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Special  Report  Series,  No.  170 


$rtbg  (Eounctl 

MEDICAL  RESEARCH 
COUNCIL 

STUDIES  IN  THE  PSYCHOLOGY 
OF  DELINQUENCY 

By  GRACE  W.  PAILTHORPE 


LONDON 

PUBLISHED  BY  HIS  MAJESTY’S  STATIONERY  OFFICE 

1932 

Price  2s.  net 


Universal  Decimal  Classification 
343 • 95 


Crown  Copyright  Reserved 


Special  Report  Series,  No.  170 


IPttbg  Council 

MEDICAL  RESEARCH 
COUNCIL 


STUDIES  IN  THE  PSYCHOLOGY 
OF  DELINQUENCY 

By  GRACE  W.  PAILTHORPE 


LONDON 

PUBLISHED  BY  HIS  MAJESTY’S  STATIONERY  OFFICE 

1932 


H.M.  Stationery  Office  Code  Number 


Universal  Decimal  Classification 


MEDICAL  RESEARCH  COUNCIL 


The  Rt.  Hon.  the  Viscount  D’Abernon,  G.C.B.,  G.C.M.G.,  LL.D. 
(Chairman). 

The  Rt.  Hon.  Lord  Mildmay  of  Flete,  P.C.  ( Treasurer ). 

W.  S.  Morrison,  M.C.,  M.P. 

Professor  Robert  Muir,  M.D.,  Sc.D.,  F.R.S. 

Sir  John  H.  Parsons,  C.B.E.,  D.Sc.,  F.R.C.S.,  F.R.S. 

Professor  J.  J.  R.  Macleod,  M.B.,  D.Sc.,  F.R.S. 

Wilfred  Trotter,  M.S.,  F.R.C.S.,  F.R.S. 

Sir  Charles  S.  Sherrington,  O.M.,  G.B.E.,  M.D.,  Sc.D.,  F.R.S. 

J.  A.  Arkwright,  M.D.,  F.R.S. 

The  Rt.  Hon.  Lord  Dawson  of  Penn,  G.C.V.O.,  K.C.B.,  M.D. 
Professor  E.  Mellanby,  M.D.,  F.R.S. 

Sir  Walter  M.  Fletcher,  K.B.E.,  C.B.,  M.D.,  Sc.D.,  F.R.S. 
(Secretary). 


PRINTED  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 


PREFACE 

The  following  study  in  the  psychology  of  delinquency  gives 
the  results  of  investigations  made  by  Dr.  Grace  W.  Pailthorpe 
while  receiving  a  research  grant  from  the  Medical  Research 
Council  on  the  recommendation  of  their  Committee  on  Mental 
Disorders.  Her  manuscript  was  originally  submitted  to  the 
Council  in  August  1929,  for  consideration  by  their  Committee, 
but  owing  to  a  variety  of  causes  there  has  unavoidably  been 
unusual  delay  in  bringing  it  to  the  final  stage  of  publication. 

The  first  investigation  deals  with  the  female  inmates  of  prisons. 
Support  was  originally  given  to  this  work  by  the  Council  in 
1923  on  the  proposal  of  Dr.  M.  Hamblin  Smith,  Medical  Officer 
of  H.M.  Prison,  Birmingham.  Facilities  were  granted  by  the 
Prison  Commissioners  at  H.M.  Prison,  Holloway,  where  Dr.  J.  H. 
Morton,  Governor  and  Medical  Officer,  gave  invaluable  assistance 
to  the  work. 

The  second  deals  with  the  inmates  of  preventive  and  rescue 
homes  for  girls  and  young  women.  This  was  undertaken  in  1926, 
at  the  request  of  the  Central  Council  for  Preventive  and  Rescue 
Work  in  London  (now  the  Central  Council  for  the  Social  Welfare 
of  Women  and  Girls  in  London),  who  secured  the  necessary 
facilities  in  various  Homes  and  also  provided  an  assistant  and 
some  incidental  expenses. 

One  hundred  cases  wei’e  studied  in  each  investigation.  The 
findings  are  in  the  first  instance  given  separately,  but  in  a  later 
section  comparison  between  the  two  series  is  made.  A  special 
section  deals  in  detail  with  all  the  cases  considered  as  falling 
within  the  psychopathic  group.  Finally,  Dr.  Pailthorpe  bases 
upon  the  experience  described  her  own  proposals  for  a  new  con¬ 
structive  policy  in  the  treatment  of  offenders. 

The  author  is,  of  course,  personally  responsible  for  the  pre¬ 
sentation  of  her  results  and  for  the  opinions  which  she  rests  upon 
them.  The  different  authorities  that  have  assisted  the  work  are 
not  to  be  taken  as  necessarily  accepting  her  views. 

Nevertheless,  the  gravity  and  urgency  of  the  social  problems 
discussed  will  be  universally  admitted.  The  Medical  Research 
Council  are  confident  that  Dr.  Pailthorpe’s  carefully  collected 
evidence  will  be  widely  welcomed  by  other  students,  and  that 
both  her  interpretation  of  it  and  her  proposals  for  reform  will  be 
anxiously  considered. 

Medical  Research  Council, 

38  Old  Queen  Street, 

Westminster,  S.W.  1. 


29  March  1932. 


» 


STUDIES  IN  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF 
DELINQUENCY1 

By 

GRACE  W.  PAILTHORPE,  M.D. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Section  I.  Introduction  ........  7 

Section  II.  Report  on  an  Investigation  into  the  Psychology  of  Criminals, 

1923-7  ..........  8 

A.  Preamble  .........  8 

B.  Description  of  Method  adopted  in  interviewing  Prison  Subjects  .  12 

C.  Classification  of  Cases  .  .  .  .  .  .  .14 

The  Defective  Group  .  .  .  .  .  .  .14 

The  Psychopathic  Group  .  .  .  .  .  .  .21 

The  Adapted  Group  .  .  .  ...  .22 

Section  III.  Report  on  an  Investigation  into  the  Psychology  of  Inmates  of 

Preventive  and  Rescue  Homes,  1927-8  .  .  .  .  .24 

A.  Notes  on  the  Homes  visited  .  .  .  .  .  .25 

B.  Analysis  of  Mental  and  Physical  Condition  of  cases  investigated  .  26 

Main  Grouping  ........  26 

Home  Conditions  ........  28 

Physical  Conditions  of  Parents  of  Subjects  .  .  .  .  .30 

Physical  Conditions  of  Subjects  .  .  .  .  .  .31 

Intelligence  Tests  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .31 

Delation  of  Intelligence  Quotient  to  Psychoncurosis  and  Menial  Conf.ict  .  34 

Sentiment  Development  .  .  .  .  .  .  .38 

Psychopathic  Group  ...  39 

Section  IV.  Comparisons  between  Prison  and  Preventive  Home  Cases  ,  41 

A.  Introduction  ........  41 

B.  Tables  of  Comparison  ......  41 

Section  V.  The  Psychopathic  Group  .  .  .  .  .  .43 

A.  Introduction  .......  .43 

B.  Case  Histories  ........  46 

Section  VI.  Summary  and  Proposals  for  a  Constructive  Policy  .  .  87 

A.  Summary  .........  87 

B.  Proposals  for  a  Constructive  Policy  .  .  .  .  .90 

C.  Suggestions  for  Treatment  .  .  .  .  .  .92 

1  This  Report  is  printed  with  the  permission  of  the  Prison  Commissioners,  but 

they  do  not  necessarily  agree  with  or  hold  the  same  views  as  the  author. 


6  CONTENTS 

Section  VII.  Appendices  .......  99 

1.  Analysis  of  Crimes  (Prison  Cases')  .  .  .  .  .99 

2.  Analysis  of  Physical  Health  of  Offenders  ( Prison  Cases')  .  .  100 

3.  Analysis  of  Home  Conditions  ( Prison  Cases )  .  .  .  101 

4.  Analysis  of  Prevailing  Affects  and  Moods  ( Prison  Cases )  .  .  102 

5.  Analysis  of  Attempts  at  Adjustment  ( Prison  Cases )  .  .  .  102 

6.  A  Report  on  Prisons  and  Homes  on  the  Continent  in  1927  .  103 

Section  VIII.  Works  Consulted  ......  Ill 


SECTION  I.  INTRODUCTION. 


In  the  following  report,  I  have  presented  the  material  which 
I  have  gathered  over  a  period  of  five  years  in  an  investigation 
into  the  psychology  of  inmates  of  Prisons  and  inmates  of 
Preventive  and  Rescue  Homes.  I  have  compared  qualities  of 
the  one  group  with  qualities  of  the  other,  and  have  indicated 
any  differences  or  lack  of  differences  that  seemed  noteworthy. 
The  psychopathic  cases  of  both  groups  are  discussed  as  one 
single  class.  It  is  recognized  that  the  girls  who  are  being 
trained  in  Rescue  and  Preventive  Homes  have  not  committed 
any  crime,  nor  are  they  under  detention  or  punishment.  The 
cases  seen  in  the  separate  investigations  are  compared  because 
the  girls  in  the  voluntary  Homes  are  often  of  the  type  who  are 
in  grave  danger  of  breaking  the  law  and  becoming  liable  to 
imprisonment. 

In  the  summary  I  have  been  ambitious  enough  to  suggest 
a  constructive  policy  which  I  feel  could  be  carried  out  pari  passu 
with  the  existing  systems,  gradually  permeating  the  present 
systems  and  perhaps  ultimately  replacing  them. 

In  that  section  I  have  reviewed  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
any  kind  of  advance,  due,  I  believe,  not  so  much  to  public 
opinion  as  to  the  religious  attitude  which  rules  or  appears  to 
rule  both  Prisons  and  Preventive  Homes.  I  do  not  think  that 
this  is  at  all  necessarily  representative  of  the  Church’s  more 
generous  outlook  of  to-day,  but  it  has  come  to  be  a  condition 
tacitly  accepted  and  not  much  questioned. 

The  statistics  in  this  report  are  valuable  rather  as  indications 
than  as  allowing  final  conclusions  to  be  drawn.  In  the  first 
place  the  numbers  on  which  they  are  based  are  too  small,  and, 
secondly,  so  many  of  the  attributes  chosen  for  statistical  investi¬ 
gation  are  not  estimated  by  standardized  tests,  but  are  conditioned 
by  the  standpoint  of  the  individual  investigator.  For  this  reason 
I  have  not  compared  the  figures  with  those  of  other  investigators. 

My  thanks  are  especially  due  to  Sir  Maurice  Waller  (late 
chairman  of  the  Prison  Commissioners)  who  in  the  first  place 
gave  me  the  facilities  necessary  to  carry  out  this  investigation  ; 
to  Dr.  Morton,  the  Governor  of  H.M.  Prison,  Holloway,  who  was 
at  all  times  most  helpful ;  and  to  the  Committees  and  super¬ 
intendents  of  the  various  Homes  for  their  kind  co-operation  and 
assistance  in  my  work. 

My  thanks  are  also  due  to  Dr.  Hamblin  Smith,  who  has  taken 
a  keen  interest  in  this  investigation  from  the  beginning  ;  and 
also  to  Miss  M.  A.  Cullis,  who  has  assisted  me  throughout  the 
investigation  ;  and  to  several  other  friends  for  their  useful  help 
and  criticisms  of  this  report. 


8 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 


SECTION  II.  REPORT  ON  AN  INVESTIGATION  INTO 
THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CRIMINALS,  1923-7. 

A.  PltEAMBLE. 

By  way  of  preliminary  I  shall  attempt  to  make  clear  the 
particular  line  of  approach  followed  during  these  investigations 
into  crime  and  delinquency  ;  also  to  indicate  in  a  rather  brief  and 
condensed  fashion,  the  history  of  criminological  research  up  to 
the  date  of  writing. 

It  may  be  said  at  once  that  the  investigations  were  at  no  time 
influenced  by  penological  considerations.  The  question  was 
never,  ‘  what  punishment  is  merited  in  this  case  ’.  On  the  con¬ 
trary  it  could  be  fairly  accurately  stated  as  follows,  ‘  what 
treatment — using  this  term  in  the  most  elastic  sense — would 
lead  to  the  restoration  of  these  cases  to  the  ranks  of  normal 
people  ’.  This  aim  necessitates  a  clear  system  of  scientific 
diagnosis ;  a  matter  that  became  all  the  more  urgent  when  I 
found  in  course  of  investigation  that  it  was  impossible  to  draw 
any  sharp  line  of  demarcation  between  crime,  delinquency  and 
asocial  behaviour. 

It  might  appear  unnecessary  to  make  such  an  obvious  reserva¬ 
tion,  but  the  actual  state  of  criminology  in  this  country  compels  it. 
Of  all  the  branches  of  sociology  criminology  shows  the  most 
remarkable  tendency  to  preserve  in  active  form  views  and  reac¬ 
tions  which  in  other  sciences  would  have  been  discarded  long 
ago  as  inadequate,  obsolete  or  even  archaic.  Thus  one  meets 
with  systems  based  more  or  less  directly  on  doctrines  of 
‘original  sin’,  almost  cheek  by  jowl  with  the  most  modern 
systems  of  psychopathological  research.  Psychological  treat¬ 
ment  rubs  shoulders  with  systems  of  treatment  by  punishment. 
Sociologists  are  divided  amongst  themselves  as  to  the  importance 
of  individual  and  environmental  factors  ;  and  their  recommenda¬ 
tions  as  to  policy  vary  accordingly.  In  other  branches  of 
psychological  science,  although  there  may  be  acute  differences  of 
opinion  on  scientific  matters,  there  is  not  the  same  remarkable 
persistence  or  intrusion  of  more  archaic  elements.  Thus  in 
psychiatry,  although  a  policy  of  restraint  is  still  pursued  towards 
the  insane,  flogging  to  expel  demons  has  now  been  abandoned. 

In  tracing  the  history  of  scientific  criminology,  one  is  there¬ 
fore  compelled  to  start  from  the  point  where  moralistic  views 
were  first  shaken  or  influenced  by  more  objective  methods  of 
approach.  This  may  be  called  the  first  phase  of  scientific  research. 
It  was  at  the  time  a  revolutionary  change,  and  doubtless  at  the 
present  day  still  appears  to  many  as  revolutionary.  Beccaria  in 
1755  and  Bentham  in  England  in  1792  pointed  out  that  the 
criminal  was  an  offender  against  society  rather  than,  as  had 
hitherto  been  thought,  an  offender  against  God.  Punishment, 
they  maintained,  should  be  meted  out  as  a  deterrent,  not  as  a 
vengeance.  The  motives,  they  urged,  which  kept  the  law-abiding 
citizen  from  crime  were  merely  not  sufficiently  developed  in 
the  criminal.  Criminals  were  but  normal  people  who  had  sue- 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CEIMINALS 


9 


cumbed  to  temptation.  Later  others,  while  sharing  their  views, 
advanced  the  further  proposition  that  some  criminals  were 
lunatics  and,  as  such,  in  need  not  so  much  of  moral  training  as  of 
study  and  medical  treatment. 

Evidently,  Bentham  also  had  some  germ  of  this  same  idea  in 
his  mind  regarding  the  mental  instability  of  delinquents  when 
he  proposed  his  Panopticon  Prison,  every  part  of  which  was  to 
be  made  visible  from  one  central  position  by  cleverly  devised 
reflectors.  Although  Bentham  was  empowered  to  proceed  with 
his  scheme  it  was  never,  unfortunately,  carried  out.  It  might 
have  been  the  means  of  providing  much  useful  data. 

Lombroso,  in  1876,  in  his  Crime ,  its  Causes  and  Remedies , 
claimed  he  had  found  physical,  and  even  hereditary  differences 
in  the  criminal,  as  distinct  from  the  person  who  does  not  commit 
crime.  But  even  he,  in  the  last  year  of  his  life,  emphasized  the 
importance  of  apportioning  penalties  not  according  to  the 
offence,  but  according  to  the  offender — one  of  the  soundest 
theories  ever  advanced  in  connexion  with  crime,  and  one  which 
is  fortunately  gradually  gaining  ground  in  public  credence 
to-day. 

The  idea  that  criminal  action  had  its  root  in  natural  causes, 
such  as  physical  and  hereditary  deficiencies,  aroused  at  first 
intense  opposition,  and  was  countered  by  the  suggestion  that 
crime  was  due  to  circumstances  and  environment.  The  latter 
theory  became,  and  still  is,  very  popular.  The  criminal  absorbs 
both  theories  with  alacrity.  It  is  understandable  that  he  should 
find  it  alluring  to  attribute  the  cause  of  his  crime  to  natural 
causes  or  environment,  for  he  thus  disposes  of  the  question  of 
personal  responsibility.  AVhat  is  less  clearly  understood  is  the 
fact  that  the  popularity  of  these  views  in  social  circles  is  capable 
of  similar  explanation. 

The  second  phase  may  be  called  the  formal  psj’chological 
phase.  It  coincides  with  the  expansion  of  academic  psychology 
into  a  formal  applied  science.  The  tendency  of  this  new  science 
was,  perhaps  naturally,  towards  description  and  measurement, 
although  it  maintained  some  interest  in  deeper  problems,  e.  g. 
the  development  of  instincts  and  of  their  appropriate  reactions. 
Ultimately  a  dichotomy  of  interest  became  more  clear  and  justi¬ 
fied  the  separation  of  a  third  stage.  This  is  characterized  by  a 
deep  individual  approach,  the  isolation  of  an  important  ‘  un¬ 
conscious  ’  system  of  the  mind  and  the  investigation  of  both 
normal  and  pathological  phenomena  from  this  new  point  of 
view.  The  pathological  phenomena  were  investigated  in  the 
following  order :  neuroses,  character  formations,  psychoses, 
character  abnormalities,  social  relations,  and  finally  anti-social 
relations  including  crime  and  delinquency. 

The  psychological  approach  to  criminology,  therefore,  reflects 
the  history  of  psychology.  It  can  be  roughly  divided  into  a 
phase  of  psychological  measurement  and  comparison  and  a  phase 
of  deep  individual  psychopatliological  investigation.  In  recent 
times  it  has  become  customary  to  employ  both  methods  at  once. 
This  is  in  some  ways  an  unsatisfactory  procedure  because  it  tends 


10 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

to  impair  the  efficiency  of  both  methods,  but  it  is  perhaps 
specially  justifiable  in  criminology  where  the  opportunities  for 
deep  investigation  are  peculiarly  limited. 

It  is  a  somewhat  invidious  task  to  single  out  representative 
writers  on  these  various  aspects  of  criminology.  We  might  say, 
however,  that  the  Lombroso  tradition  was  continued,  in  its  purely 
sociological  aspects,  by  Ferri,  and  with  a  more  general  psycho¬ 
logical  tendency  by  Havelock  Ellis.  Goring  ( The  English  Convict) 
may  be  credited  with  effecting  a  general  diversion  of  interest 
into  psychological  channels  (concept  of  mental  deficiency  or 
natural  stupidity).  Then  comes  Healy  ( The  Individual  Delinquent) 
as  a  pioneer  of  modern  clinical  methods,  introducing  the  concept 
of  mental  abnormality  as  distinct  from  deficiency.  These  modern 
methods  have  also  been  applied  to  children,  by  Bronner  (mainly 
intelligence  studies),  Clarke  Hall,  Goddard,  Cyril  Burt  (The  Young 
Delinquent );  and  to  adults  by  Aschaffenburg,  Tredgold,  Spauld¬ 
ing,  H.  Hamblin  Smith  ( The  Psychology  of  the  Criminal,  a  land¬ 
mark  in  English  criminological  literature),  Mary  Gordon  ( Penal 
Discipline,  another  landmark),  Glueck  ( Mental  Disorder  and  the 
Criminal  Law),  and  Carl  Murchison  (mostly  intelligence  studies). 

As  will  readily  be  surmised,  some  of  these  writers  are  more 
concerned  than  others  with  deep  psychological  aspects ;  but 
none  of  them  may  be  said  to  have  abandoned  methods  of  measure¬ 
ment  and  comparison  in  favour  of  the  most  fundamental  appli¬ 
cation  of  psychopathology  to  individuals.  The  results  of  psycho- 
pathological  research  have  not  yet  been  consolidated  in  textbook 
form,  and  are  contained  in  numerous  scattered  papers  on  various 
aspects  of  analytical  criminology.  One  may,  however,  refer  to 
the  works  of  Alexander  and  Staub  in  Berlin,  and  of  Aichhorn  in 
Vienna.  Man}*-  other  psychopathologists  have  dealt  with  special 
aspects  of  crime  arising  in  course  of  general  psychoneurotic, 
psj^chotic,  or  sociological  practice,  e.g.  the  significance  of  klepto¬ 
mania,  &c.  These  writers  are  too  numerous  to  mention. 

But  even  when,  as  in  the  case  of  my  own  investigations,  the 
opportunities  for  formal  deep  analysis  of  individual  cases  are 
limited,  it  is  nevertheless  possible  to  apply  analytical  principles. 
These  can  be  applied,  not  only  in  obtaining  detailed  case 
histories,  but  in  singling  out  special  characteristics  to  be  ex¬ 
amined  in  comparative  work.  Thus,  in  detailed  individual  work 
the  simple  but  revolutionary  expedient  is  adopted  of  letting  the 
subject  tell  her  own  story,  having  first  of  course  removed  all 
possible  obstacles  to  or  obvious  sources  of  bias  in  the  recital. 
Again,  in  comparative  work,  particularly  the  comparison  of 
psychopathic  types,  the  discoveries  of  analytical  psychology  can 
be  applied  :  firstly,  in  the  estimation  of  personal  reactions,  and 
secondly  in  singling  out  psychopathic  traits  which  are  usually 
neglected  or  regarded  as  unimportant  habits.  Finally,  analytical 
discipline  can  be  turned  to  advantage  in  the  general  valuation 
of  all  investigatory  experiences,  and,  on  many  occasions  there¬ 
fore,  transcends  all  other  disciplines  not  excluding  that  of  statis¬ 
tical  comparison. 

To  return  to  current  tendencies  in  criminology  as  a  whole,  it 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CRIMINALS 


11 


must  be  repeated  that  in  England  the  prevailing  tendency  is 
still  to  regard  the  criminal  as  one  of  a  distinctive  class  ;  a  class 
apart,  inherently  and  permanently  evil.  Crime  is  something 
from  which  we  others  must  hold  ourselves  aloof.  We  incline  to 
look  down  on  it  rather  than  to  look  into  it.  We  prefer  a  tele¬ 
scopic  to  a  microscopic  view. 

Now  crime  is  defined  in  English  law  books  as  ‘an  unlawful 
act  or  default  which  is  an  offence  against  the  public,  and  which 
renders  the  perpetrator  of  such  an  act  or  default  liable  to  legal 
punishment  In  all  its  phases,  we  require  the  exposition  of 
experts  to  interpret  its  definition,  and  even  experts  do  not 
always  agree.  Not  every  wrong  committed  against  another 
person  is  a  crime.  Certain  wrongs  committed  against  another 
person  are  dealt  with  by  the  civil  and  not  by  the  criminal  law, 
and  are  technically  known  as  torts,  of  which  slander  and  breach 
of  contract  are  examples.  Not  every  act  punishable  as  a  crime 
is  a  wrong  against  another  person ;  it  may  be  a  wrong  done  to 
the  community :  treason  and  attempted  suicide  are  examples  of 
this  class  of  crime.  The  selection  of  certain  acts  as  crimes  is 
arbitrary,  and  is  ultimately  prompted  by  what  appears  at  any 
particular  time  to  be  necessitated  by  the  welfare  of  the  com¬ 
munity.  Acts  which  once  were  punished  severely  as  crimes 
are  no  longer  necessarily  so  regarded,  as,  for  example,  witchcraft ; 
while  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  incest,  as  incest,  was  not 
punishable  by  the  criminal  law  until  1908.  Again,  some  crimes 
which  were  once  punished  severely  are  now  much  more  leniently 
dealt  with  ;  a  hundred  years  ago  180  crimes  were  followed  by  a 
death  penalty,  whereas,  at  the  present  time,  only  four  come  into 
that  category,  viz.  high  treason,  murder,  piracy  with  violence, 
and  destruction  of  public  arsenals  and  dockyards.  In  the 
last  two,  sentence  of  death  need  not  be  pronounced  but  may  be 
recorded. 

It  is  true  that,  sociologically,  a  man  is  not  a  criminal  until  the 
arm  of  the  law  is  stretched  out  to  take  him,  but  it  is  probably 
also  true  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  population  are  criminals 
technical^  in  the  legal  sense.  Just  as  there  are  many  who 
escape  the  appellation  ‘  criminal  ’  solely  because  they  are  not 
discovered,  so  also  are  there  many  with  mental  equipment 
similar  to  that  of  the  so-called  criminal,  who  are  without,  as  well 
as  within,  prison  walls ;  and  it  is  necessary  always  to  bear  this 
in  mind.  But  if  it  can  be  found  that  there  exists  definite 
psychological  arrest  in  development,  or  definite  deficiency  in 
a  large  majority  of  the  cases  investigated,  then  we  may  safely 
assume  that  the  class  of  society  we  speak  of  as  ‘  criminal  ’  does 
indeed  show  biological  differences  from  the  average  normal 
individual. 

I  have  said  enough  to  show  that  for  my  purpose  it  has  been 
of  paramount  importance  to  differentiate  between  the  sociological 
and  the  biological  interests.  Much  confusion  has  arisen  in  the 
past  from  the  failure  to  recognize  that  these  two  aspects  are  not 
identical,  and  the  work  that  has  been  carried  on  in  this  line  of 
research  has  been  thereby  greatly  vitiated.  But  since  the 


12 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

sociologist  was  tlie  first  to  enter  this  field  of  inquiry  it  has  not 
unnaturally  become  the  custom  to  think  of  the  delinquent  first 
and  foremost  as  a  social  failure,  to  attribute  to  him  always  some 
form  of  defect,  whether  intellectual,  moral  or  otherwise.  But 
if  the  problem  be  approached  from  the  standpoint  of  psychology 
as  a  province  of  biology,  it  is  clear  that  a  comparative  valuation 
is  not  applicable,  and  that  the  criteria  to  be  held  must  be  those 
of  biological  life  generally  ;  in  other  words,  success  or  failure  of 
the  individual  life.  Therefore,  in  the  following  pages  I  have 
attempted,  as  far  as  possible,  to  classify  the  cases  into  groups 
from  a  strictly  individualistic  point  of  view,  having  regard  to 
their  individual  make-up,  including  their  intellectual  and  senti¬ 
mental  capacities,  and  their  social  environment ;  and,  antici¬ 
pating  a  little,  it  will  be  seen  that  a  large  group  is  comprised  of 
cases  which,  from  the  biological  point  of  view,  show  a  complete 
and  satisfactory  adaptation  to  the  particular  form  of  life  which 
they  follow  ;  they  are  in  themselves  successful  and  satisfied,  and 
this  psychological  equilibrium  is  supported  by  the  fact  that 
comparatively  few  of  them  show  evidence  of  debility  or  disease, 
as  is  the  case  with  individualities  that  are  disharmonized. 

B.  Description  op  Method  adopted  in  interviewing  Prison 

Subjects. 

The  number  of  cases  investigated  was  one  hundred.  The  sub¬ 
jects  were  all  of  the  female  sex  and  were  between  sixteen  and 
thirty  years  of  age ;  no  further  selection  on  grounds  of  type  of 
crime,  physical  or  mental  condition,  was  made. 

Every  prisoner  was  interviewed  alone  without  the  presence  of 
the  female  officer  either  within  the  room  or  within  hearing- 
distance.  The  prisoner  immediately  was  put  at  ease  as  much  as 
possible  and  invited  to  tell  her  story.  At  this  stage  no  mention 
was  made  of  the  object  of  the  interview.  Some  at  first  took  the 
investigator  for  an  official  or  lady-visitor,  and  it  was  of  psycho¬ 
logical  interest  to  note  how  the  story  changed  after  the  discovery 
was  made  that  the  investigator  was  unofficial  and  not  a  religious 
or  moral  adviser.  Others  asked  straight  away  ‘  What  is  it  all 
about  ?  ’  No  concealment  was  made,  although  no  more  was  ex¬ 
plained  than  was  necessary  to  allay  their  fears  and  obtain  their 
confidence.  As  a  rule  this  was  accomplished  within  the  first 
hour,  after  which  they  would  talk  freely  about  themselves,  and 
it  was  then  possible,  by  indirectly  guiding  their  conversation, 
and  always  avoiding  a  direct  question,  to  obtain  the  information 
required.  As  far  as  possible  a  continuous  life  history  of  the 
individual  and  her  reactions  was  aimed  at ;  attention  being 
focused  on  instinctive  activities  and  those  derived  from  senti¬ 
ments.  Her  reactions  to  the  present  situation,  her  emotional 
mobility,  her  moods,  the  way  in  which  she  was  disposing  of  the 
present  situation  in  which  she  found  herself,  viz.  by  projection, 
negativism,  evasion,  &c.,  her  mannerisms  (e.g.  the  childish  antics 
of  dementia  praecox),  habit  spasms,  tremors,  blushing,  sweat¬ 
ing  ;  her  affects — self-reproach,  self-pity,  self-complacency,  &c. — 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CRIMINALS 


13 


and  moods  were  all  noted.  Her  history  of  depressions  and  states 
of  excitement  were  all  gone  into  minutely,  with  special  regard 
to  periodicity  and  relation  to  menstruation. 

The  prisoner  was  seen  for  two  hours  at  the  first  interview,  and, 
if  an  easy  relationship  had  been  established  in  the  first  hour, 
which  was  usually  the  case,  the  second  was  spent  in  going 
through  the  mental  tests,  while  everything  was  running  smoothly. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  the  use  of  intelligence  tests  depends 
as  much  on  the  intelligence  of  the  examiner  as  on  that  of  the 
examinee.  Moreover,  the  examinee’s  success  depends  as  much 
upon  emotional  factors  affecting  concentration — which  factors 
are  ordinarily  incalculable — as  upon  the  quality  of  intelligence. 
So  that  one  with  a  fair  intellect  giving  bad  attention  may  fail 
equally  with  one  with  a  defective  intellect  giving  good  attention. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  clinical  psychopathology  this  is 
tantamount  to  saying  that  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to 
differentiate  by  means  of  behaviouristic  criteria  alone  between 
a  primary  functional  defect  and  a  secondary,  induced  or  ‘  symp¬ 
tomatic  ’  defect. 

If  the  tests  were  given  at  this  stage,  suspicion  and  resentment 
were  seldom  aroused  in  the  prisoner.  She  was  then  interviewed 
daily  until  all  that  was  required  had  been  obtained.  This  in¬ 
tensive  method  was  essential,  as  disturbing  factors  in  the  form  of 
derisive  and  suspicious  remarks  of  the  other  prisoners,  and  the 
knowledge  gained  through  them  and  others  gratuitously,  that 
they  need  not  attend  if  they  did  not  wish,  had  in  the  past 
occasionally  kept  the  more  suspicious  away,  or  at  least  made 
further  progress  a  very  much  more  drawn  out  process.  It  must 
continually  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  conducting  any  investiga¬ 
tions  among  prisoners,  one  is  dealing  with  people  who  are  for  the 
time  being  living  under  unnatural  conditions,  and  that  their 
inevitable  reaction  to  such  conditions  is  to  make  them  suspicious 
of  any  further  interference  from  outside  sources.  They  feel  in 
varying  degrees,  sometimes  acutely  and  consciously,  that  every 
man’s  hand  is  against  them,  and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  theirs 
is  in  turn  against  every  man  ;  and  it  is  of  paramount  importance 
to  dissipate  this  attitude  as  far  as  the  investigator  is  concerned. 
But  side  by  side  with  this  type  which  is  prepared  to  be  on  the 
defensive,  is  the  type  which  sums  up  the  investigator  and  hopes 
to  gain  some  private  end  by  servilely  fitting  in  with  whatever 
she  believes  to  be  desired  of  her.  On  the  one  hand  the  prisoner 
comes  prepared  to  fight  because  she  thinks  the  investigator  an 
official  or  lady- visitor ;  on  the  other  hand  she  comes  prepared  to 
be  servile  because  the  investigator  is  an  official  or  lady-visitor. 
In  either  case  the  information  supplied  is  lacking  in  essential 
value,  although  both  attitudes  in  themselves  are  significant  and 
important.  It  is  a  frequent  occurrence  for  a  girl,  who  may  have 
been  talking  ‘piously’,  and  who  suddenly  realizes  that  the 
investigator  is  not  a  lady- visitor,  to  exclaim  :  ‘  Aren’t  you  a  lady- 
visitor  ?  ’,  and  on  being  informed  that  such  is  not  the  case,  to 
alter  her  story  completely,  not  only  in  tone  but  in  fact.  This 
type  of  purposive  liar,  whom  we  may  speak  of  as  the  opportunist, 


14 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

whose  excursions  in  lying  are  deliberate,  is  very  different  from 
certain  other  clearly  defined  types.  This  type  and  those  who  tell 
lies  through  fear,  both  of  whom  are  aware  of  their  lying,  differ 
from  the  pathological  type  in  that  the  latter  are  unconscious  that 
they  are  lying,  or  are  aware  that  they  are  lying  but  are  quite 
unable  to  say  why.  Besides  those  already  referred  to,  there  is 
also  the  type  of  prisoner  who  does  not  take  any  of  the  attitudes 
mentioned  above,  but  who  is  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  speak 
and  put  her  case.  These  are  usually  the  accidental  or  the  mental 
conflict  cases. 

C.  Classification  of  Cases. 

The  number  of  cases  investigated  is  one  hundred.  Three 
separate  investigations  were  carried  out.  The  cases  were  ex¬ 
amined  first  from  the  point  of  view  of  general  defect,  then  from 
the  psj'chopathic  point  of  viewr,  and,  lastly,  from  the  point  of 
view7  of  individual  adaptation.  There  are  thus  three  main  but 
overlapping  groups — 1,  Defective  ;  2,  Psychopathic;  3,  Adapted. 

The  Defective  Group. 

The  term  defect  as  used  here  should  not  be  confused  with  the 
narrower  legal  term  ‘  deficiency  ’.  It  is  used  in  its  original  and 
more  accurate  sense,  including  not  only  legally  deficient  but 
those  who  would  be  classified  as  ‘subnormal’  in  Hamblin 
Smith’s  grouping.  It  is,  of  course,  necessary  to  subdivide  the 
main  grouping  into  : 

(a)  Those  who  show  defect  in  intelligence. 

(b)  Those  who  show  defect  in  sentiment  development. 

This  is  partly  for  convenience,  e.g.  to  permit  comparison  with  the 
results  obtained  by  other  workers,  and  partly  because  defect  in 
sentiment  is  held  to  be  of  a  different  order  from  defect  in  intelli¬ 
gence.  This  is  a  view  which  will  certainly  be  modified  at  no 
distant  date.  Psychopathologists  have  already  established  that 
some  cases  of  legal  ‘  deficiency  ’  can  be  attributed  to  emotional 
factors  of  a  type  that  would  be  called  ‘  defect  in  sentiment’.  It 
is  unfortunate  that  the  legal  term  should  give  rise  to  difficulties 
in  classification,  but  as  it  will  no  doubt  give  place  in  course  of 
time  to  more  specific  terminology,  I  have  decided  to  employ  the 
safer  and  wider  term  in  this  grouping. 

Class  (a).  Those  who  show  defect  in  intelligence.  The  Hamblin 
Smith  scheme  of  Tests  is  used  throughout,  although  very 
occasionally  they  are  supplemented  by  the  Binet-Terman  Tests. 
It  is  Dr.  Hamblin  Smith’s  opinion  that  his  tests  are  more  suitable 
for  adults.  I  have  used  both  his  and  the  Binet-Terman  Tests 
and  agree  with  him  after  my  experience  in  using  both.  Adults 
are  shy  of  being  tested,  and  it  is  only  with  difficulty,  and  some¬ 
times  considerable  persuasion,  that  they  can  be  led  through  the 
series  of  tests. 

The  tests  are  briefly  as  follows  : 

1.  Reading.  The  subject  is  given  a  passage  to  read  relating 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CRIMINALS 


15 


to  a  fire.  She  is  asked  to  repeat  in  her  own  words  what  the 
passage  was  about.  Her  memory  and  comprehension  are  noted. 

2.  Writing.  A  few  dictated  words  are  given.  The  phrase 
‘  I  saw  the  dog  run  after  the  cat  ’  is  generally  used,  because  of 
the  peculiar  inclination  of  the  mental  defectives  to  write,  ‘  I 
was  the  god  ’.  Occasionally  the  order  of  the  phrase  is  reversed, 
viz.  ‘I  saw  the  cat  run  after  the  dog  A  note  is  made  if  the 
absurdity  is  appreciated. 

3.  Arithmetic.  A  very  simple  sum  in  subtraction  is  given, 
followed  by  one  or  two  equally  simple  mental  sums,  such  as, 

1  If  a  dozen  eggs  cost  Is.  6d.,  how  much  would  you  have  to  pay 
for  half  a  dozen  ?  ’ 

4.  First  Form  Board.  (Healy.)  The  board  consists  of  a  rect¬ 
angular  frame  into  which  five  rectangular  blocks  fit  exactly. 
It  can  easily  be  done  by  any  one  having  a  little  mechanical 
ability. 

5.  Second  Form  Board.  (Hamblin  Smith.)  In  Healy’s 
Board  the  pieces  are  interchangeable ;  in  this,  several  of  the 
pieces  are  not.  The  subject  is  told  that  all  the  pieces  fit  in 
easily  without  any  forcing  if  put  into  their  right  places.  If 
after  these  instructions  she  still  persists  in  crowding  a  piece 
into  a  space  which  it  will  not  fit,  it  is  clear  that  she  does  not 
understand  a  simple  direction.  Both  form  boards  are  tests 
of  attention,  perseverance,  and  the  ability  to  plan  a  simple  bit 
of  work. 

6.  Aussage.  The  subject  is  given  a  coloured  picture  and 
told  to  look  at  it  very  carefully  as  she  will  be  questioned  about 
it  afterwards.  She  is  allowed  twenty  seconds,  after  which  the 
picture  is  withdrawn  and  the  subject  asked  to  describe  what 
she  has  observed.  When  she  has  finished,  several  articles  are 
suggested  as  having  been  present,  and  it  is  noted  whether 
these  suggestions  are  accepted  or  not.  The  test  is  one  of 
attention,  observation,  and  suggestibility. 

7.  Interpretation  of  Pictures.  Twro  pictures  are  shown  to 
the  subject  and  she  is  asked  what  is  the  idea  of  each  picture  ? 
It  is  a  test  of  the  imagination. 

8.  Comparison  of  Lengths.  Three  pairs  of  lines  of  unequal 
length  are  shown,  the  longer  being  on  the  right  side  in  each 
case.  These  are  followed  by  three  pairs  of  equal  lines.  It  is 
a  test  of  suggestibility. 

9.  Diagrams.  The  subject  is  asked  to  reproduce  on  paper 
two  geometrical  figures  shown  together  for  ten  seconds. 

10.  Cricket  Ball  Test.  A  circle  with  a  small  gap  represents 
a  field  with  a  gate.  The  subject  is  told  to  suppose  she  has  been 
playing  there  and  has  lost  her  purse  (ball,  when  testing  a  boy) 
and  is  coming  back  through  the  gate  to  find  it.  She  is  asked 
to  trace  out  the  best  path  to  take  in  order  to  be  sure  of 
succeeding. 

11.  Cancellation.  A  sheet  of  capital  letters  is  given  to  the 
subject  and  she  is  asked  to  strike  out  all  the  letters  ‘  a’.  The 
method  in  which  the  subject  approaches  the  test  is  important. 
It  is  a  test  of  attention. 


16 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

12.  Heilbronner’s  Apperception  Test.  This.  consists  of  a 
series  of  sets  of  cards,  each  successive  card  of  the  set  showing 
rather  more  in  detail  the  representation  of  some  common 
object  (lamp,  bicycle,  &c.)  until  the  complete  object  is  shown 
in  the  final  cai’d. 

13.  Pictorial  Completion  Test.  This  consists  of  a  brightly 
coloured  picture,  mounted  on  wood,  in  which  ten  one-inch 
squares  have  been  cut  out.  The  subject  is  given  the  picture 
and  forty-five  blocks,  forty  of  which  bear  a  representation  of 
some  object,  and  five  of  which  are  blank.  She  is  told  to  fill  in 
the  spaces  with  the  blocks  which,  in  her  opinion,  make  the 
best  sense. 

Subjects  examined  by  the  Hamblin  Smith  Scheme  of  Intelli¬ 
gence  Tests  fall  into  one  of  three  divisions:  1,  Normal;  2,  Sub¬ 
normal  ;  3,  Mentally  Defective. 

Table  I. 

Showing  results  of  these  tests  on  one  hundred  prison  cases. 

Normal  Intelligence  .  .  .  .64  per  cent. 

Subnormal  Intelligence  .  .  .  21  ,, 

Defective  Intelligence  .  .  .  15  ,, 

Of  the  total  number  of  cases  investigated  (100)  there  are  15 
per  cent,  in  the  mentally  defective  division  and  21  per  cent,  in 
the  subnormal  division ;  that  is,  adding  these  two  divisions 
together,  36  percent,  fall  into  Class  a.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
of  the  total  number  of  cases  investigated,  the  large  majority, 
64  per  cent.,  are  of  normal  intelligence.  This  confutes  the 
generally  held  opinion  that  criminals  become  such  because  they 
are  subnormal  intellectually.1  Much  nearer  the  truth  might  it 
be  to  say  that  criminals  become  so  through  defect  in  sentiment 
development.  In  dealing  with  Class  b,  below,  we  find  61  per  cent, 
in  whom  sentiment  development  is  very  rudimentary,  and  23  per 
cent,  who  show  some  development  in  this  direction  although  by 
no  means  that  of  the  average  person.  That  is,  84  per  cent,  of  the 
total  are  deficient  in  sentiment  development.  The  remaining 
16  per  cent,  are  average  in  sentiment  development  and  are  com¬ 
posed  of  accidental  and  psychopathic  cases. 

In  this  mentally  deficient  division,  in  every  case  with  the 
exception  of  one,  where  mental  conflict  was  also  a  strong  factor, 
deficiency  in  intelligence  was  the  most  potent  factor  in  giving 
rise  to  delinquency. 

In  the  subnormal  division  we  find  other  factors  playing  an 
important,  if  not  primary,  part,  and  the  subnormality  can  be 
looked  upon  as  subsidiary. 


Table  II. 

Mental  Conflict  ..... 

5  cases 

Psychotic  ...... 

3  „ 

Almost  Mentally  Defective 

2  „ 

Constitutional  Inferior  .... 

Sentiment  development  rudimentary,  and  homes 

1  case 

vicious  or  unsatisfactory 

1  Cp.  figures  of  Preventive  Group,  p.  34. 

9  cases 

PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CRIMINALS 


17 


These  figures  suggest  that  a  subnormal  in  a  vicious  or  un¬ 
satisfactory  home  is  more  likely  to  drift  into  aberrant  behaviour 
than  a  subnormal  brought  up  in  a  satisfactory  home.  She  has 
not  the  mental  capacity  to  avoid  the  pitfalls  that  her  associates 
of  normal  intelligence  encounter  with  safety  every  day. 

Class  ( b ).  Those  tvho  show  defect  in  sentiment  development. 

Table  III. 

Rudimentary  Sentiment  Development  .  .  61  eases. 

Developing  Sentiment  .  .  .  .  23  ,, 

Average  Sentiment  .  .  .  .  16  ,, 

The  classification  is  necessarily  arbitrary  and  therefore  needs 
explanation.  In  the  rudimentary  sentiment  development  class 
are  placed  those  who  show  very  little  else  than  the  egoistic 
sentiment;  and,  perhaps,  some  other  sentiment  in  a  slight  degree. 
In  the  developing  sentiment  class,  several  sentiments  are  evident 
in  greater  or  lesser  degree.  In  the  average  sentiment  develop¬ 
ment  class,  several  sentiments  are  evident  as  definite  and  easily 
detected  dispositions  at  work  in  the  everyday  life  of  the 
individual,  with  one  or  more  other  sentiments  of  lesser  or 
greater  degree. 

We  find  in  the  table  above  a  large  majority,  viz.  84  per  cent., 
showing  a  deficiency  in  sentiment  development.  For  the  most 
part,  this  class,  while  strikingly  lacking  in  any  other  than  egoistic 
sentiment,  profess,  and,  indeed,  themselves  believe  that  their 
lives  are  controlled  by  most  exemplary  social  sentiments.  These 
ideas  they  freely  express,  and  as  freely  contradict  in  the  same 
sentence  quite  unconsciously.  What  they  are  putting  forward 
is  not  an  expression  of  themselves,  but  an  expression  of  what 
they  have  been  taught,  parrot-like,  to  be  ‘  the  thing  They  adopt 
the  clap-trap  of  their  particular  class,  but  it  is  mere  imita¬ 
tion,  it  never  takes  the  permanent  form  of  dispositions  and 
sentiments.  Were  they  to  forgo  all  these  lofty  utterances  to¬ 
morrow,  they  themselves  would  be  virtually  unchanged.  Their 
pseudo-sentiments  can  be  put  on  and  off  as  easily  as  the  powder 
and  paint  they  affect  on  their  faces.  For  example,  prisoners 
will  frequently  assert  that  they  could  not  let  the  children  starve, 
which  on  the  face  of  it  is  a  most  laudable  attitude  to  have 
towards  the  children ;  but  when  it  is  pointed  out  that  they  need 
not  let  their  children  starve  if  they  apply  for  guardian  relief, 
they  will  declare  vehemently,  and  with  great  unction,  that  they 
would  not  think  of  going  to  the  guardians,  they  are  ‘  much  too 
proud  for  that !  ’  When  the  point  is  still  further  pressed,  and  it 
is  explained  that  by  choosing  prison,  which  hurts  their  dignity 
less,  they  are  nevertheless  accepting  in  this  way  relief,  since  the 
guardians  take  the  children,  and. that  they  are  at  the  same  time 
depriving  the  children  of  the  parent  who  cares  for  their  every¬ 
day  needs  ;  then  they  at  once  declare  that  this  considei’ation 
makes  no  difference  to  them  since  they  are  4  too  proud  ’  to  go  to 
the  guardians.  This  incongruity  of  expression  and  fact  is  not 
assimilated  immediately,  but  only  after  it  has  been  pressed  home 
1463  B 


18 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

in  several  ways  and  from  different  points  of  view.  When  their 
reasoning  faculty  is  thus  forced  into  activity  they  form  a  judge¬ 
ment  on  perfectly  normal  lines,  i.e.  they  make  a  choice  and 
immediately  drop  the  false  attitude  without  any  sense  of  loss  or 
embarrassment ;  this  lack  of  shame  or  embarrassment  further 
indicates  how  little  the  altruistic  utterances  mean  to  them.  In 
other  words,  it  is  only  a  figure  of  speech,  an  attitude  that  society 
demands  of  them.  But  there  is  one  thing  that  might  be  noted 
in  passing,  and  that  is  the  very  slow  working  of  the  reasoning 
faculty.  This  sluggish  state  of  mind  is  often  noticeable  in  the 
performance  of  the  second  form  board  test.  Many  will  try  again 
and  again  to  put  a  square  piece  of  wood  into  a  rounded  end,  and 
it  is  only  after  many  trials  that  it  dawns  on  them  that  it  cannot 
be  done.  In  other  words,  their  power  of  distinguishing  between 
similars  and  dissimilars  is  undeveloped  or  deficient. 

In  the  61  per  cent,  of  cases  showing  rudimentary  sentiment  we 
find  the  egoistic  sentiment  present  in  varying  degrees,  whilst  the 
other  sentiments  of  patriotism,  religion,  familial,  aestheticism, 
and  altruism  are  very  rudimentary  or  almost  completely  absent. 
Taking  McDougall’s  view  that  the  sentiment  of  self-regard 
(egoistic  sentiment  here)  is  derived  from  the  balancing  of  the 
instincts  of  self-assertion  and  submission,  it  is  noticeable  that  in 
these  people  the  activities  of  the  self-assertive  instinct  far  outweigh 
those  of  the  self-abasement  instinct ;  that  is  to  say,  the  subjects 
are  aware  of  their  capacities  (and  over-estimate  them)  but  not  of 
their  limitations,  so  that,  although  the  egoistic  sentiment  is  pre¬ 
sent,  it  is  so  only  in  a  very  elementary  way.  The  adjustment  to 
reality  has  been  the  minimum  compatible  with  life  within  the 
group ;  and  has  been  small  in  comparison  with  the  average 
normal  adult  within  the  same  group. 

In  connexion  with  this  study  of  the  deficiency  in  sentiment 
development  in  so  large  a  majority  of  cases,  the  following  con¬ 
sideration  is  worth  noting: 

All  the  subjects  tested,  with  the  exception  of  two,  were  elemen¬ 
tary  school  trained  (or  its  equivalent).  Only  seven  passed  on  to 
any  higher  form  of  education  by  the  result  of  their  own  efforts. 
The  analysis  of  these  is  as  follows: 

Table  IV. 

Mental  Conflict  .  ...  5  cases. 

Mental  Conflict  and  Psychotic  Trends  .  .  1  case 

Mental  Conflict  and  Epilepsy  .  .  .  1  ,, 

Thus,  all  these  subjects  fall  into  the  psychopathic  group. 

The  two  exceptions  mentioned  above  as  having  had  a  different 
education  from  the  others  were  convent  trained ;  but  neither 
were  able  to  derive  any  benefit  from  this  more  advanced  school 
training.  One  was  subnormal  intellectually  and  suffering  from 
mental  conflict ;  the  other  was  psychotic ;  both  were  unmanage¬ 
able  at  home,  for  which  reason  they  had  been  sent  to  convents. 

The  homes  of  all  these  subjects  were  satisfactory;  and  out  of 
the  seven  all  were  intellectually  normal ;  five  showed  average  or 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CRIMINALS 


19 


developing  sentiment,  while  two  showed  only  rudimentary  senti¬ 
ment.  One  of  these  showed  mental  conflict  and  psychotic  trends 
as  above,  and  the  other  mental  conflict  alone.  These  figures 
indicate  that  a  higher  development  in  sentiment  is  found  in 
conjunction  with  a  greater  difficulty  of  adjustment  to  reality; 
that  the  greater  development  of  sentiment  is  probably  brought 
about  largely  by  the  fact  of  the  home  conditions  being  satisfactory, 
and  also  by  the  greater  degree  of  intelligence. 

Not  a  single  case  was  educated  in  a  private  or  public  school 
(with  the  exception  of  the  two  convent  trained  cases  already 
mentioned).  That  there  is  something  in  the  private  and  public 
school  form  of  education  which  is  lacking  in  elementary  school 
education  every  one  will  admit ;  may  it  not  be  that  this  ‘  some¬ 
thing  ’  is  co-ordinated  character  training  ?  In  elementary  schools 
this  is  left  to  chance,  and  is  dependent  on  individual  teachers. 
In  private  and  public  schools  the  teacher  is  chosen  largely  for 
his  or  her  likely  influence  on  the  children  in  the  direction  of 
sentiment  development.  The  home,  naturally,  has  some  influence, 
but  in  the  majority  of  the  homes  from  which  we  draw  our 
prisoners,  it  is  often  doubtful  if  there  is  any  greater  development 
of  sentiment  in  the  other  members  of  the  family.  Therefore,  if 
this  be  the  case,  is  not  definite  education  towards  sentiment 
formation  all  the  more  necessary  where  it  is  lacking  in  the 
home  ?  But  this  is  dealing  with  the  child,  and  we  are  here 
concerned  with  adults.  According  to  some  psychologists  there 
is  a  definite  stage  in  development  at  which  character  finally 
crystallizes  out.  Certain  sentiments  become  dominant.  These 
sentiments  may  work  in  harmony,  or  several  strong  but  antago¬ 
nistic  sentiments  may  equally  dominate  the  individual,  dividing 
up  his  life  into  sections,  each  of  which  may  be  lived  separately. 
According  to  this  view  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed  between  the 
conditions  before  and  after  this  epoch.  But  surely  it  is  no 
unusual  occurrence  to  see  a  person,  even  one  of  mature  age 
apparently  change  completely  in  character  under  some  new  and 
strong  influence.  And  we  might  even  say  that  in  no  case  is 
there  a  stage  in  the  development  of  any  individual  at  which 
character  is  so  fixed  that  it  cannot  be  changed,  even  so  far  as  to 
produce  what  might,  on  a  superficial  view,  appear  to  be  a  new 
personality.  If  this  be  so,  where  character  development  has 
taken  place  and  a  change  can  be  effected,  what  might  not  be  done 
by  education  where  very  little  character  development  has  taken 
place ;  where  the  original  capacity  for  sentiment  formation  has 
not  been  stimulated  into  activity  ;  where  such  capacity  is  still 
lying  dormant  ?  We  are  dealing  with  individuals  whose  disposi¬ 
tions  are  rudimentary  largely  because  life  has  been  lived  in 
surroundings  which  have  been  rudimentary.  The  surroundings 
lack  ideals  which  are  the  outcome  of,  as  well  as  the  making  of, 
sentiments.  They  live  with  people  who  lack  sentiment  formation 
even  as  they  themselves;  there  is  no  attraction  or  stimulus  towards 
sentiment  formation.  This  side  of  the  individual  is  lying 
dormant.  The  egoistic  sentiment  in  them  is  almost  elemental 
in  that  it  involves  the  activities  of  self-assertion  alone.  Their 

b  2 


20 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

craving  to  follow  fashion  and  to  be  as  others  is  largely  imitative 
rather  than  idealistic,  exhibitionistic  rather  than  aesthetic. 

Dealing  now  with  Class  b  as  a  whole  (see  Table,  III,  p.  17),  we 
find  on  analysis  of  the  average  sentiment  division,  of  whom  there 
are  16  cases,  the  following: 


Table  Y. 


Mental  Conflict  .....  7  cases. 

Mental  Conflict  and  Epilepsy  .  .  .  2  ,, 

Constitutional  Inferior  ....  1  case 

Accidental  Cases  .....  6  cases 

That  is,  in  all  average  sentiment  cases  (including  the  accidental) 
we  find  very  potent  causes  for  delinquency  other  than  lack  of 
sentiment  development,  which  here  is  normal. 

In  the  developing  sentiment  division  we  find  : 

Table  VI. 

Mental  Conflict  .  .  .  .  .18 

Constitutional  Inferior  ....  2 

Subnormal  Intelligence  and  Vicious  Home  .  1 

Vicious  Home  and  very  low  Level  of  Training  .  1 

Accidental  .  .  .  .1 

Here  again  the  preponderance  of  the  mental  conflict  as  a  cause 
for  delinquency  is  striking,  and  bears  out  the  suggestion  that  it 
is  with  the  growth  of  sentiment  that  mental  conflict  arises  and 
thus  divides  offenders  into  the  two  great  groups,  adapted  and 
unadapted. 

In  the  rudimentary  sentiment  division  we  find  : 


Table  VII. 


Mental  Conflict  ..... 

19 

cases. 

Psychotic  ....... 

11 

ii 

Mentally  Deficient  in  Intelligence 

15 

ii 

Subnormal  Intelligence  and  Vicious  Homes 

12 

ii 

Subnormal  Intelligence  and  Bad  Health 
Constitutional  Inferiors  (one  subnormal  intelli¬ 

3 

ii 

gence,  one  normal  intelligence) 

2 

ii 

Isolating  from  the  three  divisions  (rudimentary  sentiment, 
developing  sentiment,  and  average  sentiment)  the  mental  conflict 
cases,  and  discarding  the  accidental  cases,  we  have  the  following 
figures : 

Table  VIII. 


Sentiment 

No.  of 

Mental 

Percentage  of 

Development. 

Cases. 

Conflict. 

Mental  Conflict. 

Rudimentary 

61 

19 

31  per  cent. 

Developing 

22 

18 

88-8  „ 

Average 

10 

7 

70  „ 

The  enormous  increase  of  mental  conflict  in  the  developing 
and  average  sentiment  divisions  is  what  we  should  expect ;  it  is 
a  sign  of  the  evolution  or  growth  of  the  individual  who  is  more 
in  touch  with  reality  than  one  in  the  rudimentary  sentiment 
division;  of  the  individual  who  is  widening  her  personality  by 


cases. 

n 

case 

u 

ii 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CRIMINALS 


21 


the  identification  of  herself  with  her  surroundings,  during  which 
process  she  will  encounter  obstacles,  some  of  which  will  be 
surmountable  and  some  insurmountable.  The  insurmountable 
objects  will  arouse  mental  conflict.  What  stirs  one  individual 
more  than  another  to  reach  a  higher  level  of  civilization  may  be 
due  to  a  multiplicity  of  factors.  That  she  is  unable  to  reach  her 
ego-ideal  is  evident  in  the  presence  of  conflict.  What  prevents 
her  reaching  her  ego-ideal  is  a  matter  for  analysis :  the  analysis 
of  a  mental  and  emotional  life  going  on  within  her  of  which  she 
is  unaware.  The  adapted  individual  has  solved  her  problem  by 
remaining  happily  where  she  is,  at  an  infantile  level  of  behaviour, 
i.e.  instinctive,  and  she  reacts  like  a  child  in  the  nursery.  The 
normal  adult  is  also  adapted  at  an  adult  level  of  behaviour.  She 
has  adapted  herself  to  the  ways  of  her  own  social  group  and 
respects  the  demands  of  the  community  as  a  whole  upon  her. 

The  adapted  and  infantile  criminal  is  not  even  reconciled  to 
her  own  social  group,  she  refuses  to  recognize  any  social  group 
at  all.  It  is  true- she  may  belong  to  a  gang,  but  its  existence  is 
dependent  on  this  anti-social  attitude.  The  unadapted  is  one 
who  has  difficulty  in  adaptation  to  her  own  social  group  or  to 
the  community  as  a  whole  ;  but  in  addition  she  cannot  adapt 
herself  to  the  ‘  criminal  ’  group  in  which  she  finds  herself.  She 
has  nothing  in  common  with  them.  True  she  wishes  to  be 
adapted  to  her  own  social  group,  but  she  cannot  achieve  this  aim. 


The  Psychopathic  Group. 

In  this  group  we  find  67  per  cent,  in  whom  some  psychopathic 
condition  is  demonstrable,  varying  from  definite  psychotic  mani¬ 
festations  and  all  degrees  of  mental  conflict,  to  mild  but,  never¬ 
theless,  persistent  fits  of  depression ;  and  also  cases  that  are 
psychopathic  but  cannot  be  further  classified. 

The  following  table  shows  the  analysis  of  these  67  cases : 

Table  IX. 

(а)  Mental  Conflict  .  .  .  .44 

(б)  Psychotic  .....  8 

(c)  Epileptic  .....  4 

(d)  Various  Psychopathic  conditions  .  .  11 

(a)  Mental  conflict.  Considering  first  the  mental  conflict 
cases,  the  following  points  are  noticeable : 

1.  All  show  shame  and  self-reproach,  or  projection,  or 
negativism,  (a)  Shame,  33  cases  ;  (b)  Projection,  21  cases; 
(c)  Negativism,  10  cases.  Here  it  should  be  noted  that  with  the 
development  of  projection  or  negativism,  shame  would  not  be 
admitted,  since  both  mechanisms  are  flights  from  the  feeling 
of  shame  and  guilt. 

2.  Home  conditions.  Averagely  good,  25  cases ;  Unsatis¬ 
factory,  12  cases;  Vicious,  7  cases.  The  relative  absence  of 
vicious  homes  is  noticeable.  The  unsatisfactory  ones  were 
made  up  of  seven  in  which  there  was  no  training ;  three  in 


22  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

which  the  subject  was  spoilt  as  a  child ;  one  in  which  the 
father  was  religious  and  nagging ;  and  one  in  which  the  im¬ 
morality  of  the  parents  acted  as  a  severe  stimulant  to  the 
mental  conliict. 

3.  Sentiment  development.  Average,  9  cases  ;  Developing, 
15  cases;  Rudimentary,  20  cases.  Ten  of  the  rudimentary 
cases  were  those  in  which  mental  conflict  was  very  slight,  but 
was,  nevertheless,  after  due  consideration  considered  to  be 
present.  In  all  the  other  cases  the  mental  conflict  was  definite. 

In  summing  up  these  three  points,  therefore,  we  may  suggest 
that  with  reasonably  good  home  conditions,  together  with 
a  greater  development  in  sentiment,  we  get  an  increasing 
number  of  mental  conflict  cases.  Putting  this  in  other  words, 
those  suffering  from  mental  conflict  are  those  who  have 
attempted  to  reach  a  higher  standard  of  development  than  the 
others,  of  whom  the  majority  come  into  the  adapted  group. 

(&)  Psychotic  group.  In  this  group  we  find  eight  cases,  all  of 
whom  would  have  benefited  by  hospital  supervision  and  treat¬ 
ment  : 

1.  Attempted  Murder.  This  person  was  still  homicidal  when 
I  saw  her.  She  had  a  fixed  desire  to  murder  her  victim  ;  she 
was  cheerful  and  indifferent  to  her  fate  and  said  she  would 
attempt  the  same  act  again  if  opportunity  occurred,  whether 
a  policeman  stood  by  or  not.  She  had  no  conscious  reason  for 
wishing  to  kill  her  victim. 

2.  This  person  suffered  from  epilepsy  and  from  periodic  fits 
of  wild  excitement  followed  by  fits  of  depression. 

3.  This  girl  repeatedly  smashed  windows  of  a  particular 
person’s  house.  She  was  finally  committed  to  an  asylum. 
Upon  release  she  immediately  again  committed  a  similar  act. 

4.  This  girl  violently  assaulted  her  father  whenever  he 
crossed  her.  This  tendency  developed  after  encephalitis 
lethargica. 

5.  Attempted  Suicide.  This  girl  was  manic-depressive  in 
type. 

6.  This  girl  had  the  mannerisms  of  dementia  praecox. 

7.  This  girl  was  probably  an  early  case  of  dementia  praecox. 

8.  This  girl  suffered  from  extreme  childishness  and  violent 
outbreaks  of  temper.  She  had  delusions  about  her  excretory 
functions. 


'The  Adapted  Group. 

The  large  proportion  of  39  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of 
cases  investigated  comes  under  this  heading.  The  subjects 
(excluding  psychotic  and  psychopathic  cases)  are  without  ex¬ 
ception  lacking  in  sentiment  development  .  The  reality-principle, 
using  this  term  in  the  Freudian  sense,  has  not  come  into  play  to 
any  extent.  These  individuals  are  as  nearly  without  apparent 
signs  of  repression  as  it  is  possible  for  the  human  animal  to  be 
where  he  is  living  with  his  fellows.  Having  no  apparent 
mental  conflict  they  are  more  or  less  adapted,  that  is,  they 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CRIMINALS 


23 


are  successful  as  biological  units,  though  6  failures  ’  from  the 
social  standpoint.  They  are  not  so  much  psychopathic  as  socio- 
pathic.  They  have  reached  a  standard  of  living  in  the  society 
in  which  they  move  which,  with  their  mental  equipment,  is  as 
comfortable  as  it  is  possible  for  them  to  attain.  Prison  for  most 
of  them  is  part  of  that  life  ;  it  is  the  unavoidable  pain  part  of  it. 
But  even  so,  barring  the  inconvenience  of  loss  of  liberty,  they 
are  aware  of  very  little  discomfort.  They  find  a  certain  pleasure 
in  the  routine  of  prison  life,  in  the  certainty  of  food  at  regular 
hours,  and  the  comparatively  easy  work  they  are  called  upon  to 
do.  I  have  never  once  heard  a  complaint  as  to  food  or  the  work 
expected  of  them.  In  fact,  for  many  it  serves  as  a  rest  from  the 
rather  more  strenuous  and  exciting  life  maintained  outside. 
The  majority  settle  down,  after  a  weep  or  no  weep,  to  serve  their 
sentence.  In  other  words,  it  is  part  of  the  life  they  have  chosen 
and  as  such  they  accept  it;  the  game  is  worth  the  candle.  Even 
as  their  response  to  life  or  the  reality-principle  is  elementary 
and  their  standard  of  living  low,  so  we  find  their  habits  are  at 
the  same  level.  Their  inhibitions  are  those  of  necessity  rather 
than  those  of  ideal.  They  have  reached  an  elementary  standard 
of  cleanliness,  the  lowest  that  would  be  tolerated  by  the  society 
in  which  they  move.  It  seldom  extends  to  the  exclusion  of 
vermin. 

Physiologically  these  girls  are  for  the  most  part  physically  fit 
and  robust.  There  is  very  little  evidence  of  disease  ;  with  the 
exception  of  venereal  disease  in  the  prostitute  class,  and  except 
for  the  diseases  of  childhood,  there  are  seldom  any  other  illnesses 
recorded  in  their  histories.  There  may  be  a  certain  amount  of 
debility  in  a  few  cases,  but  this  is  usually  accounted  for  by  the 
immediate  circumstances  prior  to  their  imprisonment,  e.g.  a  girl 
who  is  a  prostitute  by  profession  may  have  a  run  of  bad  luck  for 
a  time  and  be  underfed.  A  considerable  number  of  girls  become 
fat  and  anaemic  while  in  prison,  probably  due  to  the  limited 
open  air  and  exercise  they  get,  and  to  the  plentiful  and  regular 
feeding  of  a  somewhat  starchy  and  farinaceous  nature,  and  the 
number  of  hours  devoted  to  sleep  and  lying  down.  This  physio¬ 
logical  fitness  corresponds  to  the  psychological  harmony,  and  is 
what  we  should  expect  in  those  who  are  adapted. 

The  question  arises,  are  these  adapted  and  sentimentally 
deficient  people  any  more  capable  of  profiting  by  education  than 
the  intellectually  defective  ?  Do  we  get  out  of  them  the  best  of 
what  they  are  capable?  If  these  individuals  are  harmonized, 
can  we  upset  the  balance  and  force  them  to  re-adapt  to  a  new 
set  of  circumstances  more  in  accord  with  society’s  demands  ? 
Could  a  certain  proportion  of  them  be  stimulated  to  a  higher 
level  of  sociability  by  aiming  directly  at  focusing  their  atten¬ 
tion  on  the  gain  of  deferred  pleasure  and  at  the  same  time 
applying,  indirectly,  pain  or  that  which  is  unpleasurable  ?  In 
any  case,  even  if  a  large  proportion  of  this  group  should  be  found 
to  be  uneducab!e  in  this  way,  they  might,  possibly,  be  made 
useful  and  productive  enough  to  be  self-supporting,  if  perma¬ 
nently  supervised. 


24 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

The  following  table  shows  the  analysis  of  this  group,  of  which 
there  are  thirty -nine  cases : 


Table  X. 

Deficient  in  Intelligence  . 

Deficient  in  Sentiment  Capacity  . 

Home  Conditions  Vicious  or  Unsatisfactory 


22  cases. 
39  „ 

28  „ 


SECTION  III.  REPORT  ON  AN  INVESTIGATION  INTO 
THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  INMATES  OF  PREVENTIVE  AND 
RESCUE  HOMES,  1927-8. 

This  investigation  was  undertaken  at  the  request  of  the 
Central  Council  for  Preventive  and  Rescue  Work  in  London  by 
whom  the  funds  for  assistance  in  the  development  of  this  work 
were  supplied.  With  the  assistance  of  Drs.  Franklin  and 
Kitchin,  one  hundred  girls  and  women  from  seven  Preventive 
and  Rescue  Homes  in  London  were  investigated  ;  these  Homes 
were  selected  as  being  those  that  seemed  to  offer  best  facilities, 
They  were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  various  religious  bodies,  viz. 
Church  of  England,  Roman  Catholic,  Jewish,  &c. 

Some  of  the  girls  had  come  under  supervision  for  pilfering, 
others  had  led  irregular  sexual  lives,  and  others  again  had  come 
into  the  Homes  from  a  variety  of  causes  such  as  unsatisfactoriness 
of  home  conditions,  homelessness,  incorrigible  behaviour,  &c. 
With  one  or  two  exceptions,  they  all  came  from  the  same  class  ; 
that  is,  they  we  re  girls  whose  education  had  been  entirely 
elementary.  A  selection  of  cases  was  made  the  subject  of  a  more 
intensive  study,  and  a  survey  of  these  will  be  found  in  the 
section  relating  to  the  Psychopathic  Group  in  this  report. 

In  the  following  report  on  the  one  hundred  cases  examined, 
it  will  be  noticed  that  in  dealing  with  the  material  under  various 
headings  some  numbers  reported  upon  do  not  reach  one  hundred. 
This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  these  cases  the  information 
on  the  point  being  dealt  with  was  not  obtainable,  or,  if  obtainable, 
was  thought  unreliable,  and  therefore,  was  not  used.  It  is  also 
necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that  such  classifications  as  have  been 
made  for  the  sake  of  descriptive  purposes  are  arbitrary,  and  the 
borderline  between  these  cannot  in  the  nature  of  things  be 
exactly  defined  ;  for  example,  in  dealing  with  the  margin  be¬ 
tween  satisfactory  homes  and  unsatisfactory  homes,  consideration 
has  to  be  given  to  what  might  be  considered  normal  from  the 
point  of  view  both  of  environment  and  the  psychological  state 
of  the  members  of  the  household.  A  certain  degree  of  psycho¬ 
neurosis  would  probably  be  found  in  all  parents ;  therefore, 
the  margin  between  the  degree  of  this  pathological  condition 
which  can  be  considered  ‘normal’  or  ‘averagely  normal’,  and 
the  degree  in  which  it  passes  over  into  the  category  of  ‘  unsatis¬ 
factory  ’,  cannot  be  measured  by  an  absolute  standard. 

This  report  is  set  out  in  three  parts  : 


PREVENTIVE  AND  RESCUE  HOME  INMATES  25 


A.  Notes  on  Homes  visited. 

B.  A  brief  analysis  of  the  mental  and  physical  condition  of 
the  hundred  cases. 

C.  An  attempt  to  summarize  the  inferences  suggested  by  the 
results.  It  must  be  recognized  that  it  is  impossible  to  draw 
other  than  tentative  conclusions  from  figures  so  few  in  number 
as  those  here  dealt  with.  An  endeavour  has  been  made  to 
classify  the  cases  into  groups  with  regard  to  treatment. 

A.  Notes  on  Homes  Visited. 

There  are  many  obstacles  to  carrying  out  a  scientific  investiga¬ 
tion  of  this  sort,  and  as  these  have  some  bearing  on  the  ultimate 
selection  of  material  it  is  well  to  put  them  on  record. 

Nine  Homes  were  visited.  After  preliminary  explanation  was 
given  of  the  nature  of  the  investigation,  five  of  these  offered 
facilities.  In  one  instance,  the  heads  seemed  particularly  anxious 
that  something  should  be  done,  but  explained  that  the  cases 
were  not  to  be  selected  cases,  although  the  first  half-dozen  proved 
to  be  of  a  most  difficult  type.  The  girls  reacted  very  rebelliously 
to  being  picked  out  from  amongst  the  others  and  scenes  followed. 
Not  unnaturally,  it  was  impracticable  to  carry  the  investigation 
further. 

In  three  of  the  Homes,  the  investigation  was  to  be  in  mental 
testing  alone,  and  further  to  be  applied  only  in  cases  selected  by 
the  superintendent.  From  the  administrative  point  of  view  this 
was  a  reasonable  stipulation,  but  as  my  intention  was,  for  the 
sake  of  excluding  all  possibility  of  selection,  to  carry  on  the 
investigation  in  those  Homes  only  where  all  the  inmates  were  to 
be  seen,  these  three  Homes  had  to  be  excluded. 

The  Homes  investigated  were,  however,  representative.  The 
inmates  were  girls  who  were  placed  in  the  Homes  on  application 
either  from  the  parent,  or  from  the  police  courts,  prisons, 
hospitals,  poor-law  institutions,  and  rescue  agencies.  These  girls 
or  young  women  were  unmanageable  or  under  bad  influence,  had 
pilfered,  or  had  become  pregnant  or  prostitutes.  Their  ages 
ranged  between  14  and  27. 

In  some  Homes  the  investigation  was  allowed  to  proceed  with 
the  exception  of  special  cases,  where  it  was  necessary  for  my 
purpose  that  the  girl  should  be  seen  repeatedly  and  over  a  con¬ 
siderable  period.  It  was  disappointing  to  have  begun  such  an 
intensive  investigation  and  to  have  it  interrupted.  However, 
there  were  two  Homes  where  the  facilities  were  adequate,  and 
from  these  Homes  for  the  most  part  I  drew  my  special  cases. 

All  the  cases  were  from  elementary  schools  with  the  exception 
of  one. 

The  information  was  obtained  from  the  superintendent,  from 
Home-records,  from  the  girls  themselves,  and  from  medical 
records  supplemented  by  physical  examination  by  the  investi¬ 
gators  when  considered  necessary.  Except  in  individual  cases, 
conclusions  have  not  been  discussed  with  the  superintendent. 
Nor  indeed  for  the  most  part  did  there  seem  to  be  much  value 


26 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

in  doing  so.  Naturally  a  preliminary  discussion  with  the  superin¬ 
tendent  took  place.  But  opinions  varied  greatly.  Some  des¬ 
paired,  feeling  that  the  girls  were  all  mentally  defective ;  others 
felt  vaguely  that  with  many  of  them  it  was  not  a  definite  lack 
of  intelligence,  but  a  kink,  and  in  this  latter  view  they  were 
undoubtedly  right. 

In  this  connexion  it  might  be  well  to  mention  that  in  the 
course  of  my  prison  investigation,  I  saw  a  number  of  girls  from 
the  Borstal  Institution  who  were  being  taught  by  an  outside 
lecturer  for  three  days  weekly.  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  be 
able  to  discuss  my  findings  with  her  ;  she  was  a  person  of  wide 
experience  and  of  considerable  psychological  insight,  although 
without  scientific  training.  It-  was  interesting  to  note  that  the 
conclusions  which  we  arrived  at  independently  concerning  each 
girl’s  character,  intelligence,  and  general  physical  and  mental 
condition,  invariably  coincided. 

No  comment  has  been  made  on  the  standards  reached  in  the 
school  curriculum,  since,  as  already  stated,  the  only  information 
obtained  has  been  through  the  Home  records  and  the  girls  them¬ 
selves.  Moreover,  it  does  not  follow  that  a  child  who  has  reached 
Standard  YI  or  YII  is  necessarily  neither  subnormal  nor  defec¬ 
tive.  There  are  various  reasons  why  children  in  these  so  often 
overcrowded  schools  have  to  be  pushed  on  at  definite  periods ; 
e.g.  the  teacher  may  not  think  it  fair  to  leave  older  girls,  how¬ 
ever  backward,  working  with  younger  children,  particularly  if 
these  older  girls  have  undesirable  tendencies. 

B.  Analysis  of  Mental  and  Physical  Condition  of 
Cases  investigated. 

Main  Grouping. 

One  hundred  cases  have  been  divided  into  three  main  groups. 

Table  XI. 

Pilfering  ......  25  cases. 

Sex  Irregularities  .  .  .  .  29  ,, 

Other  Cases  .  .  .  .  46  ,, 

1.  Pilfering.  This  includes  all  in  whom  pilfering  was  habitual. 
There  were  others  who  pilfered  occasionally,  but  these  were 
deemed  to  be  suffering  no  more  from  this  tendency  than  the 
average  human  being. 

2.  Sexual  Irregularities.  These  irregularities  included  prosti¬ 
tution,  promiscuity,  and  obscene  conversation. 

3.  Other  causes.  An  analysis  of  these  is  shown  in  Table  XII. 
They  are  subdivided  into  sections  as  follows  : 

(a)  Asocial  behaviour.  This  comprises  running  away  from 
home,  staying  out  late  at  night,  insubordination,  violent 
temper,  &c. 

(b)  General  subnormality.  This  includes  cases  which  were 
subnormal  in  intelligence,  and  those  which,  apart  from  the 


PREVENTIVE  AND  RESCUE  HOME  INMATES  27 


intelligence  factor,  had  so  feeble  a  personality  that  they  were 
not  able  to  cope  with  their  occupation,  and  therefore  were  sent 
in  for  training. 

(c)  Unsatisfactory  homes.  This  includes  all  who  come 
under  the  headings  unsatisfactory  homes  and  vicious  homes  in 
Table  XII. 

( d )  Bad  companions. 

If  we  look  at  the  three  main  groups  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
ultimate  goal  of  these  unfortunates,  it  will  be  seen  that  classes  1 
and  2  are  more  or  less  doomed  to  come  into  the  hands  of  the 
police  sooner  or  later  except  in  those  cases  in  class  2  where  an 
isolated  and  accidental  pregnancy  has  occurred.  The  profession 
of  prostitution  usually  leads  to  the  courts.  Promiscuity  amongst 
the  class  we  are  dealing  with  here  sooner  or  later  leads  the 
same  way.  Obscene  conversatioii  would  not  necessarily  do  so  of 
itself,  but  this  type  of  girl  is  quickly  drawn  into  association  with 
prostitutes  and  her  future  is  prejudiced. 

When  we  come  to  Group  3,  we  have  a  variety  of  individuals 
whose  future  is  less  certain.  Some  of  them  will  undoubtedly 
need  permanent  supervision  in  Homes,  e.g.  mental  defectives ; 
while  others  will  be  throughout  life  a  nuisance  and  an  affliction 
to  those  with  whom  they  come  in  contact,  but  need  not  necessarily 
come  into  custody  in  prison  or  workhouse,  or  become  inmates 
of  Homes. 


Table  XII. 

Analysis  of  Group  3  of  Table  XI  (46  cases). 

Asocial  Behaviour  .  .  .  .  .14  cases. 

General  Subnormality  of  Personality  .  30  ,, 

Unsatisfactory  Home  Conditions  .  24  ,, 

Bad  Companions  .  .  .  .  .  2  ,, 

In  this  Table  it  will  be  noticed  that  there  is  considerable  over¬ 
lapping.  This  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  sometimes  stay  in  a 
Home  was  due  to  a  combination  of  two  or  three  factors.  Five  of 
these  cases  were  put  in  for  asocial  behaviour  as  well  as  on  account 
of  unsatisfactory  homes.  There  were  three  cases  in  which  asocial 
behaviour  and  unsatisfactory  homes  were  coupled  with  subnor¬ 
mality  of  intelligence,  and  fifteen  cases  in  whom  subnormality  was 
coupled  with  unsatisfactory  homes.  There  was  one  case  in  which 
asocial  behaviour  and  a  general  subnormality  of  the  personality 
was  observed.  The  large  proportion  of  cases  of  subnormality 
(thirty  out  of  forty-six)  in  this  group  is  a  matter  for  attention. 
Of  these,  eleven  were  placed  in  Homes  on  account  of  subnormality 
alone ;  four  were  mentally  deficient  and  needed  permanent  in¬ 
stitutional  care;  and  seventeen  were  subnormal  only,  but  were 
probably  capable  of  training  to  a  point  at  which  they  could  hold 
a  situation  carefully  chosen  for  them,  but  might  still  need  some 
form  of  supervision.  Nine  of  the  subnormals  needed  supervision, 
but  not  necessarily  institutional  care. 


28 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 


Home  Conditions.  ( 100  Cases.) 

The  home  conditions  have  been  considered  under  three 
headings. 


Table  XIII. 

Satisfactory  homes 

50  cases. 

Unsatisfactory  homes 

.  41  „ 

Vicious  homes  .... 

9  „ 

The  analysis  of  the  cases  from  50  satisfactory  homes  is  as 
follows.  (Compare  Appendix  3). 

(a)  Five  of  the  girls  had  step-mothers. 

(b)  One  or  both  parents  missing  in  eleven  homes.  In  three, 
the  mother  died  before  the  child  was  seven.  In  three,  the 
mother  died  before  the  child  was  thirteen.  In  two,  the  father 
died  before  the  child  was  seven.  In  two,  the  father  died  before 
the  child  was  thirteen.  There  was  one  family  where  both 
parents  were  dead  before  the  child  was  thirteen. 

(c)  In  three  cases  there  were  foster  parents  from  infancy. 
In  two  of  these  the  child  was  illegitimate  and  subnormal  in 
intelligence.  In  one,  the  child  was  mentally  defective. 

The  analysis  of  cases  from  41  unsatisfactory  homes  is  as 
follows : 

(a)  There  were  nine  where  one  or  both  parents  were  pro¬ 
miscuous  sexually.  In  one,  the  mother  was  removed  to  an 
asylum :  information  as  to  the  form  of  ps}Tchosis  from  which 
she  suffered  was  unobtainable.  In  one,  desertion  by  the  parent 
took  place.  In  two,  the  child  was  removed  from  the  home 
and  cared  for  by  the  guardians.  In  one,  irregular  living  was 
coupled  with  gross  indifference  to  the  child. 

(b)  In  six  homes  the  parents,  or  step-parents,  were  indifferent 
and  unkind  to  the  children. 

(c)  In  one  home  the  parent  was  alcoholic. 

( d )  In  five  homes  the  children  were  neglected. 

(e)  In  three  homes  the  children  were  boarded  out  because 
the  mother  had  to  go  to  work  on  account  of  the  death  of  the 
father. 

(/)  In  nine  cases  the  child  was  brought  up  by  the  guardians 
or  in  Homes,  or  sent  from  pillar  to  post  amongst  relations. 
One  child  was  withdrawn  from  its  home  as  the  father  had  fits 
and  the  mother  was  a  feeble  personality.  Three  came  into 
the  hands  of  the  guardians  on  account  of  the  death  of  the 
parents.  Two  came  into  the  hands  of  the  guardians  on  account 
of  the  sexually  irregular  life  of  one  or  both  of  the  parents.  The 
remaining  cases  came  into  the  hands  of  the  guardians  on  account 
of  desertion  by  the  parents.  There  was  one  case  where  the 
mother  of  an  only  child  was  removed  to  an  asylum  ;  the  father 
was  an  old  man. 

(g)  There  were  eight  cases  where  separation  or  desertion  by 
the  parents  had  taken  place.  In  one,  the  man  deserted  his 
wife  on  account  of  an  illegitimate  pregnancy.  In  four,  the 


PREVENTIVE  AND  RESCUE  HOME  INMATES  29 


father  deserted.  In  the  remaining  cases,  separation  was  mutu¬ 
ally  agreed  to. 

I  have  given  these  details  not  so  much  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  social  woi'ker  as  from  that  of  the  psychopathologist. 
Experienced  social  workers  may  even  regard  them  as  not  very 
valuable.  But  the  psychopathologist  has  a  special  interest  in 
those  environmental  factors  which  either  contribute  to  or  stimu¬ 
late  mental  conflict.  In  the  whole  of  this  group  with  few  excep¬ 
tions,  for  example  in  those  cases  where  the  mother  had  to  go  out 
to  work,  the  chief  point  of  interest  to  note  is  the  comparative 
absence  of  any  kind  of  parental  love  in  the  lives  of  these  children. 
In  34  out  of  the  41  cases  this  absence  was  almost  complete.  Of 
the  remaining  seven,  the  quality  of  affection  bestowed  on  these 
children  was  of  doubtful  character  ;  in  three  the  child  was  boarded 
out  on  account  of  the  mother  having  to  work,  so  that  whatever 
natural  affection  was  there  for  the  children  was  unavailable  on 
account  of  external  circumstances. 

The  analysis  of  the  cases  from  nine  vicious  homes  is  as 
follows  : 

(a)  Three,  where  violence  was  associated  with  alcoholism  on 
the  part  of  one  or  both  parents. 

(b)  Two,  where  cruelty  and  sexual  irregularity  went  to¬ 
gether. 

(c)  One,  where  there  was  violence  and  thieving. 

(d)  One,  where  there  was  thieving  and  sexual  irregularity. 

(e)  One  where  there  was  sexual  irregularity.  All  children 
were  illegitimate  and  by  different  men. 

(/)  One  where  sexual  irregularity  on  the  part  of  the  mother 
and  desertion  by  the  father  took  place. 

Here  again,  the  absence  of  a  suitable  atmosphere  for  the 
expression  and  growth  of  love  within  the  family  circle  is  signi¬ 
ficant,  and  we  find  by  adding  together  the  figures  for  unsatis¬ 
factory  and  vicious  homes,  that  there  are  50  cases  of  this  kind. 
That  is  50  per  cent,  of  the  100  cases  were  brought  up  on  a  soil 
and  in  an  atmosphere  where  the  ordinary  love  in  a  family  life 
was  absent. 

Another  interesting  fact  emerges  from  the  analysis  of  the 
standard  of  intelligence  of  the  subjects  from  these  three  types 
of  homes : 

From  the  50  satisfactory  homes :  (a)  24  were  normal  in  intelli¬ 
gence  ;  (b)  26  were  subnormal,  including  one  mental  defective. 

From  the  41  unsatisfactory  homes:  (a)  19  were  normal ;  {b)  21 
were  subnormal,  including  two  mental  defectives. 

From  the  9  vicious  homes  :  (a)  5  were  normal ;  (b)  4  were  sub¬ 
normal. 

It  is  not  intended  to  draw  from  these  figures  any  very  elaborate 
conclusions  as  to  the  influence  of  environmental  factors ;  and  in 
any  case  the  investigation  of  intelligence  problems  is  rather 
cramped  by  existing  definitions  which  postulate  an  innate  func¬ 
tional  capacity  or  combined  capacities.  Those  interested  in 
problems  of  inhibition  may,  however,  infer  from  them  that  home 


30 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

conditions  do  not  of  themselves  and  without  any  added  factors 
necessarily  have  any  influence  in  lowering  the  standard  of  in¬ 
telligence  of  the  child.  Nor  do  they  show  what  is  so  often 
asserted,  that  these  unfortunates  are  feeble-minded  themselves 
and  come  of  feeble-minded  stock. 


Physical  Conditions  of  Parents  of  Subjects. 

Table  XIV. 


Both  parents  healthy 

.  45  cases. 

One  or  other  parent  phthisical 

11 

11 

Physically 

Other  physical  diseases 

7 

n 

diseased. 

Psych  oneurosis' 

6 

„ 

Psychoses 

7 

1  1 

Mentally 

Epilepsy 

2 

11 

diseased. 

Mentally  deficient 

2 

11 

No  informntioh  obtainable  . 

20 

11 

From  the  above  table  it  will  be  seen  that  in  56-4  per  cent,  of 
the  80  cases  the  parents  were  healthy,  that  is  to  say,  roughly 
speaking,  half  these  girls  came  from  healthy  stock  and  half  from 
diseased  stock,  physical  or  mental. 

Of  the  physically  diseased  stock  there  was  22-4  per  cent. ;  of 
the  mentally  diseased,  21-2  per  cent. 

The  question  which  naturally  arose  out  of  these  figures  was : 
How  did  the  girls  from  healthy  parents  compare  with  those  from 
diseased  parents  from  the  point  of  view  of  mental  imbalance  ? 
The  following  shows  the  results  : 

A.  Girls  with  healthy  parents. 

{a)  Of  these  there  were  37  out  of  45  showing  mental  im¬ 
balance  as  follows  :  Psychoneurotic  22  ;  Psychopathic  11  ; 
Dementia  praecox  type  2  ;  Cyclothymic  2. 

(b)  There  were  eight  cases  where  there  was  no  evidence  of 
mental  imbalance. 

B.  Girls  with  parents  showing  physical  or  mental  disease. 

(a)  Girls  with  parents  physically  diseased.  Of  girls  with 
this  class  of  parent  there  were  18,  i.e.  22-4  per  cent,  of  the 
group  of  80.  These  were  composed  of  those  classified  as 
suffering  from  ‘  phthisis  ’  and  1  other  diseases  ’  in  Table  XIV. 
The  ‘  other  diseases  ’  comprised  cases  of  heart  disease,  cancer, 
bronchitis,  &c. 

The  analysis  of  the  mental  state  of  the  girls  of  these 
physically  diseased  parents  is  as  follows :  Psychoneurotic  9  ; 
Psychopathic  3  ;  Dementia  praecox  type  1 ;  Cyclothymic  I. 

There  were  only  three  cases  in  this  group  where  there  was 
no  evidence  of  mental  imbalance. 

(b)  Girls  with  parents  mentally  diseased.  Of  this  class  of 
parents  there  were  17  cases,  i.e.  21-2  per  cent,  of  the  group  of 
80.  The  analysis  of  these  was  as  follows :  Psychoneuroses  6  ; 
Psychoses  7  ;  Epilepsy  2  ;  Mentally  Deficient  2.  From  these 
17  mentally  diseased  parents,  16  girls  showed  mental  im¬ 
balance,  and  only  1  showed  no  evidence  of  mental  imbalance. 


PREVENTIVE  AND  RESCUE  HOME  INMATES  31 


The  analysis  of  the  mental  imbalance  of  these  girls  is  as 
follows:  Psychoneurotic  5  ;  Psychopathic  6  ;  Cyclothymic  5. 

The  figures  given  above  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 


Table  XV. 

Mental 

Mental 

Equilibrium  of  girls. 

Imbalance  of  girls. 

Healthy  parents 

8 

37 

Physically  diseased  parents 

3 

15 

Mentally  diseased  parents 

1 

16 

Physical  Conditions  of  Subjects. 

The  following  table  is  an  analysis  of  the  physical  diseases  and 
defects  in  this  group  of  100  cases  : 

Table  XVI. 


Defective  vision 
Enlarged  or  septic  tonsils 
Hypothyroid 
Enlarged  thyroid  . 

High  palate 
Defective  hearing  . 
Rheumatism 
Morbus  cordis 
Anaemia 

Irregular  or  carious  teeth 
Conjunctivitis 
Old  T.  B.  affection 
Venereal  disease 


6  cases. 


12 

3 

8 

3 

3 

1 

1 

6 

13 

3 

2 

3 


77 

77 
77 
7  7 
77 
77 
77 
77 
77 


In  the  100  cases  85  are  considered  as  having  defects  so  slight 
as  to  have  had  no  bearing  on  the  general  condition  of  health 
or  mentality.  There  were  12  in  whom  the  combination  of  carious 
teeth,  slight  enlargement  of  tonsils,  slight  enlargement  of  thyroid, 
&c.,  were  together  sufficient  to  be  accounted  as  a  factor  in  probably 
influencing,  secondarily,  the  behaviour  of  the  subject.  In  the 
hypothyroid  cases,  subnormality  of  intelligence  was  also  present; 
these  cases  were  associated  also  with  anaemia. 

In  the  three  cases  where  venereal  disease  was  present,  this  was 
obviously  a  consequence  and  not  a  cause  of  asocial  behaviour. 


Intelligence  Tests. 

The  mental  tests  used  (Binet  Terman  and  others)  were  not 
intended  to  gauge  the  whole  mentality  of  the  subject,  but  to 
measure  the  particular  factor  of  psychic  equipment  comprised  in 
the  conception  ‘general  intelligence’.  This  is  not  the  place  to 
discuss  the  conception  of  the  word  ‘intelligence’  beyond  the 
fact  that,  as  used  by  Binet  and  many  of  his  followers,  it  was 
regarded  as  innate,  and  they  considered  that  a  diversity  of  mental 
processes  was  involved.  Hence  a  variety  of  tests  was  used  in 
each  age  so  that  special  aptitude  or  weaknesses  would  not  un¬ 
duly  affect  the  Mental  Age. 

As  was  emphasized  by  the  inventors  of  the  tests,  mental  defect 
does  not  depend  on  general  intelligence  alone,  so  that  the  Mental 


32 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

Age,  although  a  most  valuable  aid  to  diagnosis,  and  especially  in 
distinguishing  lack  of  endowment  from  paucity  of  acquirements, 
is  not  of  itself  an  absolute  criterion  of  defect.  The  manner  of 
dealing  with  the  questions,  for  example,  by  absurd  answers,  lack 
of  insight,  &c.,  helps  diagnosis,  though  without  necessarily  in¬ 
fluencing  the  Mental  Age.  Mental  deficiency,  it  must  be  re¬ 
membered,  is  legally  dependent  on  relation  to  the  environment. 

The  Mental  Deficiency  Act,  1913,  Clause  1,  gives  as  definition 
of  deficiency  the  following  : 1 

The  following  persons  who  are  mentally  defective  shall  be 

deemed  to  be  defectives  within  the  meaning  of  this  Act : 

(a)  Idiots :  that  is  to  say,  persons  so  deeply  defective  in  mind 
from  birth  or  from  an  early  age  as  to  be  unable  to  guard 
themselves  against  common  physical  dangers. 

( b )  Imbeciles :  that  is  to  say,  persons  in  whose  case  there 
exists  from  birth  or  from  an  early  age  mental  defective¬ 
ness  not  amounting  to  idiocy,  yet  so  pronounced  that  they 
are  incapable  of  managing  themselves  or  their  affairs,  or, 
in  the  case  of  children,  of  being  taught  to  do  so. 

(c)  Feeble-minded  persons :  that  is  to  say,  persons  in  whose 
case  there  exists  from  birth  or  from  an  early  age  mental 
defectiveness  not  amounting  to  imbecility,  yet  so  pro¬ 
nounced  that  they  require  care,  supervision,  and  control 
for  their  own  protection  or  for  the  protection  of  others,  or, 
in  the  case  of  children,  that  they,  by  reason  of  such 
defectiveness,  appear  to  be  permanently  incapable  of 
receiving  proper  benefit  from  the  instruction  in  ordinary 
schools. 

(d)  Moral  imbeciles:  that  is  to  say,  persons  who  from  an 
early  age  display  some  permanent  mental  defect  coupled 
with  strong  vicious  or  criminal  propensities  on  which 
punishment  has  had  little  or  no  deterrent  effect. 

The  fourth  category,  Moral  imbeciles ,  need  not  be  considered 
here.  Intelligence,  though  important,  is  not  the  only  factor. 
We  might,  for  example,  compare  the  case  of  a  certified  mental 
defective  whose  Intelligence  Quotient  was  64 2  with  another 
case  having  an  Intelligence  Quotient  57-81  who  was  indubitably 
not  certifiable.  In  this  last  case,  poor  endowment  was  compen¬ 
sated  for  by  stability,  lack  of  affective  attachments  and  of 
sentiments,  strong  reality  sense  and  undeviating  self-interest. 
These  rather  unattractive  characteristics,  the  outcome  of  an 
abnormal  and  loveless  home  life,  may  have  been  partly  the  result 

1  The  Mental  Deficiency  Act,  1927,  became  law  on  22  December,  1927.  Its  defini¬ 
tion  of  defectives  contained  in  section  one  differs  from  section  one  of  the  1913  Act 
(quoted  above)  as  follows.  The  term  ‘  moral  defectives  '  is  substituted  for  ‘  moral 
imbeciles  ’  and  a  subsection  (2)  is  added  defining  ‘  mental  defectiveness  ’.  This  now 
runs,  ‘  a  condition  of  arrested  or  incomplete  development  of  mind  existing  before 
the  age  of  eighteen  years,  whether  arising  from  inherent  causes  or  induced  by 
disease  or  injury’.  No  alteration  in  grouping  is  made,  hence  the  groupings  given 
above  are  still  valid  for  the  purposes  of  this  Report. 

2  Intelligence  Quotient  and  its  synonym,  Mental  Ratio,  is  the  ratio  of  Mental  Age  to 

Mental  Age  x  100 
Chronological  Age,  i.e.  chronological  Age‘ 


PREVENTIVE  AND  RESCUE  HOME  INMATES  33 


of  repression  ;  and  it  is  arguable  that  intelligence  may  have  been 
inhibited  also  at  an  early  age.  This  woman  of  twenty  had  for 
the  first  time  required  care,  owing  to  miscarriage  of  her  plans 
for  a  rich  husband  who  had  left  her  pregnant.  At  one  time  she 
had  saved  £100  out  of  a  small  weekly  wage.  In  the  hope  of 
making  more,  she  had  foolishly  lent  it  to  a  plausible  brother,  but 
had  taken  care  to  have  a  signed  agreement  with  him.  Later, 
when  he  failed  to  keep  this  agreement,  she  on  her  own  initiative 
sued  him  and  won  the  case.  This  instance  is  cited  to  show  the 
possibility  of  utilizing  a  low  grade  of  intelligence  in  such  a  way 
as  to  be  independent,  for  in  this  case  the  ordinary  advice  and 
support  of  friends  and  relatives  was  absent.  There  was  no 
suggestion  of  dishonesty  or  of  law  breaking. 

Probably  no  person  in  whom  the  Intelligence  Quotient  was  so 
low  as  50  could,  in  spite  of  other  assets,  dispense  with  supervision 
and  control,  and  most  would  need  permanent  institutional  care. 

In  this  survey  the  description  Subnormal  or  Mentally  Deficient 
has  been  regarded  from  the  point  of  view  of  Intelligence  Quotient 
only,  and  is  therefore  not  equivalent  to  a  diagnosis,  or  to  an 
exclusion  of  defect  from  the  wider  point  of  view.  The  object  has 
been  not  so  much  to  detect  the  mentally  defective  cases,  as  to 
estimate  defect  in  intelligence  and  compare  this  with  other 
features  appearing  in  the  subjects.  An  Intelligence  Quotient 
below  75  is  classified  as  Subnormal  and  an  Intelligence  Quotient 
below  50  as  Mentally  Deficient. 

The  hundred  Institutional  cases  were  tested  by  the  Terrnan 
modification  of  the  Binet  Simon  tests.  These  tests,  like  all 
others,  are  open  to  criticism,  but  they  are  probably  those  most 
widely  used  and  have  the  advantage  of  giving  definite  intelligence 
quotients.1  For  various  reasons  they  were  more  practicable  than 
the  group  tests.  In  my  opinion,  the  Terrnan  Tests  are  probably 
more  useful  in  distinguishing  grades  of  normal  intelligence. 
The  highest  Intelligence  Quotient  attained  was  103,  and  only 
three  exceeded  100.  The  tests,  however,  were  made  on  adults 
and  a  higher  Intelligence  Quotient  might  be  expected  from 
children  above  their  chronological  age  level  than  with  adults 
of  the  same  standard,  for  the  choice  of  questions  would  be  wider. 
These  considerations,  however,  are  not  of  great  moment  for  it  is 
of  more  interest  in  the  present  case  to  compare  the  subjects  with 
each  other  than  with  some  absolute  criterion  ;  and  to  distinguish 
the  subnormal  from  the  normal,  than  to  grade  those  who  were  in 
the  upper  level  of  the  normal,  where  testing  is  in  general  less 
reliable,  although  sometimes  enlightening. 

Some  cases  with  Intelligence  Quotient  of  about  95  had  gained 
scholarships,  but  on  the  whole  the  general  level  of  intelligence, 
even  among  the  ‘normals’,  was  not  high;  and,  although  a  few 
were  above  the  average,  probably  none  were  outstandingly  so. 

1  For  purposes  of  comparing  results,  it  should  be  added  that  the  tests  used  at  the 
time  of  this  investigation  were  more  stringent  than  those  re-standardized  for 
London  subjects  by  Professor  Cyril  Burt.  This  may  partly  account  for  the  marked 
proportion  of  borderline  defectives,  and  any  comparison  with  more  recent  inves¬ 
tigations  should  be  made  with  due  correction  for  scale.  In  any  case  recent  psycho- 
pathological  research  suggests  that  the  term  ‘  defect  ’  is  itself  subject  to  revision. 

14fi3  C 


34 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

Cases  with  Intelligence  Quotient  above  7 5  were  considered  to 
be  within  normal  limits,  though  this  allowed  considerable  degrees 
of  variation  in  intelligence.  (The  score  75  is  the  equivalent  of 
Mental  Age  12.)  Adults  whose  Intelligence  Quotient  was  above 
50  and  below  75  were  classified  as  Subnormals  (Mental  Age  8-12 
in  adults).  This  group  included  cases  ranging  from  the  feeble¬ 
minded  to  the  merely  dull  and  would  include  the  ‘  morons  ’  of 
American  nomenclature 

The  results  of  the  tests  were  as  follows  : 


Table  XVII. 


No.  of  Normals. 

48  * 

No.  of  Subnormals. 

48 

No.  of  Mentally  Deficients. 

4 


Intelligence  Quotient. 
75  and  over 

Intelligence  Quotient. 
50-75 

Intelligence  Quotient. 
50  and  under 


It  will  be  noticed  there  are  52  cases  (i.e.  52  per  cent.)  below 
par  in  intelligence.  This  is  of  interest  if  compared  with  figures 
relating  to  inmates  of  prisons,  where  the  average  mentality  is 
higher.  Out  of  100  prison  cases  it  was  found  that  only  36  per 
cent,  were  below  normal  in  intelligence.1 

Since  there  was  a  large  number  of  cases  in  whom  psychological 
imbalance  was  present,  it  was  thought  that  some  useful  knowledge 
might  be  gained  by  finding  out  what  relation  there  might  be 
between  manifest  mental  conflict  and  the  intelligence. 

The  following  table  shows  the  percentage  in  which  manifest 
mental  conflict  was  present : 

Table  XYIII. 

Normals  (481  showing  Mental  Conflict  .  30,  or  62-5  per  cent. 

Subnormals  (48) ,,  ,,  ,,  .  .  24,  or  50  ,,  ,, 

Mentally  Deficient  (4)  ,,  ,,  .  .  1 

The  figures  do  not  prove  much.  The  slightly  greater  per¬ 
centage  of  manifest  mental  conflict  amongst  the  normals  is  what 
we  should  expect,  and  in  my  figures  for  prison  inmates  the 
relative  difference  between  the  figures  for  mental  conflict  in 
normals  and  those  in  subnormals  is  considerably  greater.  The 
one  case  included  amongst  the  mentally  deficient  was  possibly 
one  of  dementia  praecox. 

Relation  of  Intelligence  Quotient  to  Psychoneurosis  or  Mental 

Conflict. 

Although  some  degree  of  psychic  imbalance,  cyclothymia, 1  con¬ 
stitutional  psychopathic  inferiority’,  &c.,  was  discerned  in  a 
very  large  number  of  the  cases,  we  are  confining  our  attention  here 
only  to  those  considered  to  have  mental  conflicts  or  marked 
psychoneurotic  symptoms.  The  number  is  more  likely  to  have 

1  Vide  Section  IV,  p.  41. 


PREVENTIVE  AND  RESCUE  HOME  INMATES  35 


been  under-  rather  than  over-estimated,  as  symptoms  are  often 
only  revealed  after  intensive  investigation  involving  many  inter¬ 
views,  a  view,  incidentally,  which  applies  also  to  normal  groups. 

The  tests  applied  were  intended  to  be  as  objective  and  im¬ 
personal  as  possible,  and  to  estimate  innate  intelligence  apart 
from  educational  acquirements,  and  apart  also  from  the  degree 
to  which  mental  endowments  are  effectively  utilized,  e.g.  the 
formation  of  sublimations,  &c.  The  comparative  educational 
factor  did  not  come  into  this  survey  as  the  subjects  were  mainly 
drawn  from  the  same  class.  The  possibility  that  psychical  inhi¬ 
bition  might  influence  the  test  results  was  considered.  That 
this  does  not  occur  in  a  very  obvious  degree  is  probable,  as  tests 
showing  marked  variability  of  affect  in  a  survey  of  ostensibly 
normal  subjects  would  not  have  been  retained.  Moreover,  failure 
in  a  few  tests  would  not  affect  the  main  classification,  except  in 
cases  on  the  borderline,  though  there  might  be  under-estimation 
within  the  group. 

Again,  it  is  possible  for  a  subject  to  show  the  influence  of 
mental  conflict  by  delayed  reaction  time,  and  other  signs  of 
emotion,  without  its  affecting  the  ‘  score  Inhibition,  through 
being  examined  in  a  state  of  anxiety,  may  occur,  but  probably 
not  to  a  very  marked  degree.  Naturally,  there  was  mild  anxiety 
in  some  cases,  but  never  was  this  intense  or  acute.  The  tests 
were  given  as  a  routine,  and  the  subjects  were  generally  interested 
and  co-operative,  and  could  be  put  at  their  ease.  One  case  broke 
off  in  a  negativistic  mood,  but  had  already  done  enough  to 
establish  herself  firmly  in  the  ‘  normal  ’  group.  More  frequently 
are  to  be  found  cases  in  whom  preoccupation  with  their  own 
troubles  prevents  them  from  putting  their  best  effort  into  the 
more  difficult  questions  requiring  sustained  attention,  but  this 
does  not  lead  to  failure  to  answer  the  simpler  questions,  or  to 
absurd  replies.  An  example  of  this  was  a  case,  not  included  in 
the  series,  who  had  been  in  the  top  standard  at  school  at  Ilf 
and  had  obtained  an  art  scholarship,  but  only  reached  an 
Intelligence  Quotient  of  92-18.  She  was  co-operative  and 
friendly,  but  very  much  preoccupied  with  her  conflicts. 

It  was  desirable  to  ascertain  whether  these  general  impressions 
could  be  verified  practically.  An  attempt  was  made,  therefore, 
to  investigate  the  relation  between  certain  features  of  the  tests 
and  manifest  conflict  or  psychoneurosis.  A  summary  of  the 
results  is  appended. 

(1)  ‘Scattering' :  that  is  to  say,  successes  and  failures  being 
intermingled  and  covering  several  age  groups,  instead  of  one  or 
two.  On  a  priori  grounds  it  was  expected  that  there  would  be 
a  definite  relation.  The  result  was  therefore  unexpected. 

A  hundred  cases  were  tested  ;  manifest  mental  conflict  or 
psychoneurosis  was  found  in  55. 

In  30  cases  of  the  55,  the  ‘  scattering  ’  was  of  moderate  degree, 
difficult  to  classify,  though  it  may  be  noted  that  a  marked  degree 
of  psychoneurosis  or  of  manifest  mental  conflict  was  present  in 
18  of  them.  The  extent  of  moderate  scattering  may  be  due  to 
some  discrepancy  in  using,  for  English  subjects,  tests  that  had 

c  2 


36 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

been  evaluated  for  Americans,  as  well  as  to  genuine  irregularity- 
in  the  subjects.  Re-standardized  tests  for  London  subjects, 
liowevei’,  were  not  available  for  the  complete  range.1  There¬ 
fore,  it  was  decided  to  ignore  moderate  scattering  and  to  take 
into  consideration  only  those  cases  where  there  was  definitely 
marked  or  else  decidedly  slight  scattering. 

Cases  with  slight  scattering  numbered  35,  of  which  20  had 
mental  conflicts  or  psychoueuroses. 

Cases  with  considerable  scattering  also  numbered  35  and  com¬ 
prised  17  with  conflict  or  neurosis. 

It  follows  that,  taking  these  cases  together,  ‘  scattering  ’  cannot 
be  considered  as  having  any  general  relation  to  manifest  mental 
conflict  (whatever  may  be  the  relation  to  unconscious  conflicts 
or  inhibitions)  and  must  arise  from  other  causes,  such  as  a  real 
unevenness  in  the  innate  mental  equipment.  In  some  individual 
cases  the  scattering  does  appear  to  be  related  to  the  symptoms, 
though  this  is  difficult  to  establish. 

It  is  interesting  that  out  of  five  cases  described  as  showing 
some  characteristics  of  dementia  praecox  (and  included  among 
the  conflict  group)  three  had  marked  or  very  marked  scattering. 
In  one  it  was  moderate ;  and  in  only  one,  an  intellectually  un¬ 
deteriorated  case  with  an  Intelligence  Quotient  of  99,  was  it 
definitely  slight.  Scattering  in  the  intelligence  tests  is  a  well- 
known  characteristic  of  dementia  praecox,  and  in  advanced  cases 
is  sometimes  of  diagnostic  value  in  distinguishing  deterioration 
from  primary  amentia. 

(2)  Ball  a  nd  field  problem.  This  is  intended  to  be  a  test  of 
practical  judgement.  It  was  chosen  for  the  present  purpose  for 
various  reasons.  This  test  was  given  to  175  subjects  (100  Insti¬ 
tutional  cases  ;  75  Prison  cases). 

Result.  Of  the  175  cases  examined  manifest  mental  conflict 
and  psychoneuroses  occurred  in  88,  or  50-28  per  cent. 

{a)  Number  of  cases  in  which  the  test  was  in  agreement 
with  the  age  standard  was  84.  Of  these,  42,  or  50  per  cent., 
had  manifest  mental  conflict  or  psychoneuroses. 

(b)  Number  of  cases  in  which  the  test  was  above  the  age 
standard  was  21.  Of  these  6,  or  28-57  per  cent.,  had  manifest 
mental  conflict  or  psychoneuroses. 

(c)  Number  of  cases  in  which  the  test  was  below  the  age 
standard  was  70.  Of  these  40,  or  57-14  per  cent.,  had  manifest 
mental  conflict  or  psychoneuroses. 

Taking  all  the  cases  together,  there  would  appear  to  be  a  slight 
relationship  between  psychic  disturbance  and  special  inadequacy 
in  this  test,  but  not  enough  to  be  of  diagnostic  importance. 

(3)  Fables.  This  is  described  as  a  test  of  generalization.  It 
is  regarded  by  Terman  as  fairly  closely  correlated  with  mental 
age  and  is  intended  to  be  done  in  the  shorter  form  of  the  tests. 
The  fable  test  occurs  at  age  12  (Intelligence  Quotient  75  in 
adults)  and  16  (Intelligence  Quotient  100),  so  belongs  entirely 


1  See  footnote,  p.  33. 


PREVENTIVE  AND  RESCUE  HOME  INMATES  37 


within  the  normal  group  and  is  one  of  the  borderline  tests  of 
that  group.  A  fable  is  read  to  the  subject,  who  is  asked  what 
lesson  it  is  supposed  to  teach. 

Results.  Of  the  100  cases  examined,  psychoneuroses  and 
manifest  mental  conflict  occurred  in  55  : 

(a)  Within  mental  age  group  :  70  cases.  Mental  conflict  or 
psychoneuroses  occurred  in  34,  or  48-57  per  cent. 

( b )  Above  mental  age  group  :  15  cases.  Mental  conflict  or 
psychoneuroses  found  in  12,  or  80  per  cent. 

(c)  Below  mental  age  group:  15  cases.  Mental  conflict  or 
psychoneuroses  found  in  9  cases,  or  60  per  cent. 

(d)  Taking  ( b )  and  (c)  together,  that  is,  cases  where  the  test 
does  not  accord  with  mental  age  :  30  cases.  Mental  conflict 
or  psychoneuroses  found  in  21,  or  70  per  cent. 

It  is  seen  that  the  large  majority,  70  per  cent.,  accord  with 
mental  age,  but  that  where  this  does  not  occur  the  proportion  of 
psychoneuroses  and  mental  conflict  is  definitely  greater,  viz. 
70  per  cent,  as  compared  with  48-57  per  cent. 

There  were  some  cases  which  showed  definite  inconsistency  by 
failing  in  a  test  at  one  age  and  succeeding  in  a  similar  but  more 
difficult  test  at  a  higher  age.  These  were  few,  but  seemed 
worth  considering.  The  observations  were  made  during  the 
testing  of  comprehension,  of  the  repetition  of  digits  in  reversed 
order,  of  the  repetition  of  digits  in  the  same  order,  and  of  the 
repetition  of  sentences.  Of  a  total  of  14  such  cases,  3  only  had 
manifest  signs  of  mental  conflict. 

It  is  probable  that  these  anomalies  are  not  related  to  neurosis. 
They  are  perhaps  due,  at  least  in  the  case  of  the  digit  tests,  to 
momentary  inattention,  though  the  subject  need  only  succeed  in 
one  out  of  two  or  four  series  of  numbers.  Whether  vacillating 
attention  should  be  so  closely  correlated  with  general  intelligence 
is  arguable.  In  some  cases  the  depression  of  the  mental  age  was 
notable. 

One  must  conclude  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  fables  (and 
the  number  of  cases  where  these  did  not  accord  with  the  age 
was  only  30  per  cent.)  none  of  the  features  selected  for  investi¬ 
gation  showed  numerically  that  they  were  definitely  influenced 
by  psychic  disturbance.  It  would  appear  that  the  tests,  on  the 
whole,  are  not  greatly,  or  at  least  demonstrably,  modified  by 
psychoneuroses  or  mental  conflict.  A  similar  conclusion,  though 
also  tentative,  was  reached  by  C.  A.  Richardson  in  an  article 
called  ‘  The  Influence  of  Affection  Factors  in  the  Measurement  of 
Intelligence  ’,  Brit.  J.  Med.  Psychol.,  vol.  3,  1923.  In  a  good  many 
cases,  the  tests  were  of  considerable  value  in  uncovering  con¬ 
vincingly  a  higher  intelligence  than  one  would  have  expected 
in  those  subjects  who  were  dull  in  manner,  inhibited,  psycho¬ 
neurotic,  or  mal-adapted.  This  does  not  prove  that  in  some 
individual  cases  which  may  present  difficult  and  important 
pi’oblems,  the  Intelligence  Quotient  cannot  be  diminished  by 
psychic  disturbance.  It  would  be  interesting  to  re-test  cases 


38 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 


after  analytic  treatment.  We  are  confronted  by  the  phenomena 
that  these  women  and  girls  show  an  excessive  proportion  of 
ps}Tchoneurosis  and  of  subnormal  Intelligence  Quotient  and  are 
tempted  to  postulate  a  connexion.  Or  is  it  that  these  individuals, 
who  in  childhood  did  not  receive  care  and  training  in  Homes  for 
the  Mentally  Defective,  or  in  Reformatories,  or  who  in  adult 
life  escaped  imprisonment  and  yet  require  supervision  on  account 
of  anti-social  conduct,  combine  for  the  most  part  psychic  in¬ 
stability  with  inferior  intelligence? 

Suppose  the  intelligence  tests  do,  as  seems  probable,  measure 
a  definite  mental  characteristic  (i.e.  general  intelligence),  it  is 
possible  that  this  is  not  invariably  innate,  but  may  be  acquired 
through  the  operation  of  very  early  infantile  mechanisms.  In 
particular,  the  influence  of  variation  in  the  scope  and  intensity  of 
repression  may  be  decisive  at  a  stage  before  character  is  formed. 
This,  we  now  know,  occurs  with  other  character  abnormalities. 
Abnormal  characters  may  be  due  to  a  more  diffuse  repression 
than  occurs  in  those  with  psychoneurotic  symptoms  only.  It 
would  be  of  great  interest  to  re-test  a  case  after  deep  analytical 
treatment  which  had  achieved  alterations  in  the  character, 
in  order  to  discover  whether  there  had  been  liberation  of  intel¬ 
lectual  powers  that  had  appeared,  even  after  scientific  measure¬ 
ment,  to  be  congenitally  absent.  We  already  know,  of  course, 
that  some  cases  diagnosed  as  mentally  defective  have,  as  the 
result  of  psycho-analysis,  achieved  considerable  liberation  of 
intellectual  powers  ;  capacity  and  the  utilization  of  intelligence 
improves,  but  we  do  not  know  whether  the  early  equipment, 
which  is  supposed  to  be  innate,  and  is  measured  by  these  tests, 
changes.  To  re-test  a  subject,  even  after  the  most  superficial 
psychotherapy,  might  help  to  elucidate  the  influence  of  psycho¬ 
neurosis  on  the  Intelligence  Quotient. 


Sentiment  Development. 


For  purposes  of  gaining  some  idea  of  the  sentiment  develop¬ 
ment  of  these  subjects  a  broad  classification  of  development  under 
the  headings  of  Rudimentary  Development  of  Sentiments,  Inter¬ 
mediate  Development  of  Sentiments,  and  Normal  Development 
of  Sentiments  was  made.  A  brief  description  of  what  is  included 
in  each  class  is  given  below.  The  classification  is  necessarily 
arbitrary,  but  an  endeavour  has  been  made  to  place  the  cases  in 
groups  in  relation  to  an  average  or  normal  group  ;  and  this 
average  or  normal  group  has  been  evaluated  with  due  regard  to 
the  social  stratum  from  which  the  subjects  were  drawn. 

The  result  of  this  classification  is  shown  in  the  following 
table : 


Table  XIX. 


Rudimentary  Development  of  Sentiments 
Intermediate  Development  of  Sentiments 
Normal  Development  of  Sentiments 


35  cases 


It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  table  that  83  per  cent,  show  a 


PREVENTIVE  AND  RESCUE  HOME  INMATES  39 


deficiency  in  sentiment  development,  while  35  per  cent,  show  it 
in  a  very  marked  degree.  The  Rudimentary  Group,  i.e.  35  per 
cent ,  is  composed  of  those  who  show  the  egoistic  sentiment  in  a 
marked  degree  with  very  slightly  developed  familial  or  religious 
sentiment.  In  the  Intermediate  Group,  i.e.  48  per  cent.,  have 
been  placed  those  showing  the  egoistic  sentiment  still  rather 
unduly  predominant,  with  a  fair  degree  of  familial  sentiment 
and  a  slight  degree  of,  perhaps,  one  or  two  of  the  others.1  In 
the  Normal  Group,  i.e.  17  per  cent.,  the  egoistic  sentiment  is  not 
so  pronounced,  the  family  sentiment  is  much  more  developed,  and 
two  or  more  other  sentiments  are  appreciably  present. 

In  a  further  analysis  of  the  sentiments  themselves  the  egoistic, 
familial,  and  religious  sentiments  stand  in  the  normal  position 
of  development,  but  when  we  come  to  the  patriotic  sentiment, 
which  is  really  a  continuation,  a  spread  outwards  of  the  familial 
sentiment  to  include  the  bigger  family  of  the  nation,  we  find  an 
abnormally  low  percentage,  and  with  it  an  equally  low  percentage 
of  the  altruistic  sentiment.  The  aesthetic  sentiment,  however,  is 
rather  unexpectedly  high.  It  has  been  said  that  the  aesthetic  senti¬ 
ment  is  related  to  the  maturing  of  the  sexual  instinct  and  develops 
later  than  other  sentiments.  It  might  be  permissible,  therefore, 
to  suggest,  in  cases  where  early  aesthetic  development  together 
with  sexual  maturity  has  been  brought  about,  that  undue  sexual 
stimulation  has  been  present  from  an  early  age,  and  that  this 
has  impeded  the  development  of  the  patriotic  and  altruistic 
sentiments.  There  may  be  little  in  the  idea.  However,  allow¬ 
ing  that  it  may  be  true,  there  is  at  least  this  in  its  favour, 
that  early  sexual  stimulation  and  development  is  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  members  of  this  social  order.  In  many  cases 
whole  families  are  born,  live,  and  grow  up  in  one  or  two  rooms. 
Often  young  children  of  the  ages  of  six  and  seven  sleep  in  the 
same  bed  with  their  parents,  and  children  still  older  sleep  on 
couches  or  beds  in  the  same  room. 

The  chief  feature,  however,  of  these  figures  is  the  low  per¬ 
centage  shown  of  those  having  average  sentiment  development ; 
that  is  to  say,  the  development  which  makes  it  possible  to  live 
as  a  useful  and  harmonious  member  of  society. 


Psychopathic  Group. 
Table  XX. 


Psychoneurotic 

Psychopathic 

Cyclothymic 

Dementia  praecox 


37 

39 

8 

3 


cases. 

>> 

!> 

11 


This  table  deals  with  55  out  of  a  group  of  100  cases  where 
there  was  some  pathological  degree  of  mental  imbalance.2  Con¬ 
siderable  overlapping  is  present. 

1  The  sentiments  noted  were  the  egoistic,  familial,  religious,  patriotic,  aesthetic, 
and  the  altruistic. 

2  As  was  suggested  in  the  Preamble,  modern  psychopathology  takes  cognizance  of 
cei’tain  symptomatic  or  characterological  reactions  which  were  previou>ly  ignored 
as  unimportant  or  ‘  natural  ’  habits.  It  is  necessary,  however,  that  these  reactions 


40 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

In  tlie  psychoneurotic  and  psychopathic  groups  are  to  be  found 
49  out  of  52  of  the  cases  of  subnormal  intelligence  of  the  whole 
group  of  100.  The  other  three  cases  of  subnormality  in  intelli¬ 
gence  come  under  the  cyclothymic  group.  Now  59-6  per  cent. 
(29  cases)  of  the  group  of  49  cases  of  subnormality  belong  to  the 
psychopathic  group ;  while  40-4  per  cent.  (20  cases)  belong  to 
the  psychoneurotic  group  :  that  is  to  say,  that  in  these  20  subjects 
subnormality  was  present  with  psychoneurotic  symptoms  of 
pathological  importance.  How  much  subnormality  of  intelli¬ 
gence  is  due  to  basic  subnormality,  or  how  much  is  acquired 
subnormality,  can  only  be  estimated  after  full  analyses  of  the 
subjects. 

Violent  and  quarrelsome  tempers,  suggestibility,  failure  to  grasp 
the  situation,  characterized  this  group. 

The  following  table  is  a  list  of  the  symptoms  and  character 
traits  which  are  considered  to  be  of  pathological  importance  : 

Table  XXL 


Phobias 

Doubts 

Hysterical  attacks  . 
Violent  tempers 
Obscene  conversation 
Migraine 
Enuresis 
Suggestibility 
Depressions 
Compulsion  to  bite 
Compulsion  to  eat  sweets 
Tics  . 

Kleptomania 
Negativism  . 

Fantasy 


12  cases 
1  ,, 

3  „ 
10  „ 

5  „ 

6  „ 

3  „ 

5  „ 

8  „ 

1  „ 

1  „ 

2  „ 

7  „ 
12  „ 

8  „ 


In  one  hysterical  case  there  had  been  an  attempt  to  commit 
suicide  by  strangling. 

In  another  case,  in  a  fit  of  depression  the  girl  had  attempted 
to  drown  herself. 

In  one  case  hysterical  fugue  had  been  present. 

One  subject  complained  bitterly  of  her  condition,  feeling  that 
she  was  going  mad.  She  suffered  from  uncontrollable  fits  of 
temper,  acute  phobia  of  the  dark,  visual  and  auditory  hallucina¬ 
tions,  and  a  mind  full  of  conflict  in  relation  to  everything  in 
life. 

Another  suffered  from  a  spasmodic  hiccough,  was  violent 
tempered,  and  there  seemed  to  have  been  a  direct  interrelation 
between  her  tendency  to  use  obscene  language  and  the  hiccough 
or  ‘  bark  ’.  She  was  of  the  cyclothymic  type.  Her  load  of  guilt 
was  intense  and  a  rapid  alternation  between  exaggerated  self- 


sliould  have  a  characteristic  feature  wherewith  to  distinguish  them  clinically  from 
so-called  ‘normal’  habits.  This  feature  is  usually  represented  by  an  element  of 
‘  compulsion  ’  in  the  habit.  Thus  in  Table  XXI  the  ‘compulsion  to  eat  sweets’, 
although  apparently  a  normal  habit,  has  nowadays  a  recognized  symptomatic  form. 
‘  Obscene  conversation  ’  is  included  not  simply  because  it  is  regarded  socially  as  a 
justifiable  cause  for  detention  in  a  Home,  but  because  it  can  be  manifested  as  a 
compulsion.  Further  research  will  doubtless  uncover  many  other  formations  of 
this  type. 


PREVENTIVE  AND  RESCUE  HOME  INMATES  41 


esteem  and  self-depreciation  was  constant  throughout  all  inter¬ 
views.1 

There  were  seven  cases  where  the  habit  of  stealing  was  a 
matter  of  great  distress  to  the  girls  concerned ;  where  the 
stealing  was  of  such  a  character  as  to  be  more  or  less  useless, 
and  the  objects  not  desired  on  account  of  their  intrinsic  value, 
but  for  some  unconscious  reasons.  One  girl  in  particular  had 
a  vague  kind  of  feeling  that  it  had  something  to  do  with  her 
‘  Daddy  ’  and  in  some  kind  of  ‘  queer  way  ’  she  felt  vaguely  that 
the  stealing  was  ‘  an  act  of  revenge  ’. 

In  one  case  of  nocturnal  enuresis,  the  subject  was  a  dull  and 
backward  girl  of  fourteen,  who  had  fears  of  the  dark,  could  not 
sleep  alone,  and  whose  physical  condition  was  poor. 

Another  girl  with  nocturnal  enuresis  had  always  slept  with 
her  sister  who  woke  her  up  nightly  to  attend  to  her.  She  was 
backward  and  showed  negativistic  tendencies. 

The  third  girl  suffering  from  enuresis  was  also  a  pathological 
liar,  had  choreic  movements,  and  suffered  from  ideas  of  refer¬ 
ence. 

These  few  examples  will  serve  to  show  to  what  degree  the 
pathological  mental  state  was  present  in  the  subjects  of  this 
group,  and  it  is  needless  to  press  the  point  that  the  result  of  the 
pathological  condition  of  these  subjects  could  have  far-reaching 
effects  on  their  general  behaviour  towards  life. 

Although  analyses  of  all  these  cases  would  be  ideal,  quite 
certainly  it  would  be  impossible  in  every  case  for  both  internal 
and  external  reasons,  and  in  the  summary  which  follows  (p.  87) 
an  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  in  some  practical  way  what 
might  be  done  with  these  people. 

SECTION  IV.  COMPARISONS  BETWEEN  PRISON  AND 
PREVENTIVE  HOME  CASES 
A.  Intkoduction. 

In  this  section  I  have  demonstrated  only  such  differences  as 
exist  between  the  two  groups  of  subjects  and  have  made  no  com¬ 
ments  on  aspects  common  to  both.  These  latter  predominate, 
due  undoubtedly  to  the  fact  that  the  girls  are  almost  all  drawn 
from  the  same  class  of  society,  where  home  conditions  and 
social  standards  are  less  exacting  and  are  different  from  the 
standards  of  those  who  rule  them.  The  divergencies  are  few, 
and  are  in  my  opinion  largely  attributable  to  the  presence  of  the 
greater  number  of  subnormals  in  the  Homes. 


B.  Tables  of  Compaeison. 


1.  Asocial  behaviour. 

Prison. 

Preventive  Homes. 

Pilfering 

57 

25 

Sex  irregularity 

24 

29 

The  reason  for  difference  in  figures  here  is  fairly  obvious.  The 

1  These  cases  are  more  fully  elaborated  below. 


42 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

Homes  do  not  confine  themselves  to  taking  in  children  who  are 
pilferers  or  those  practising  sex  irregularities;  but  take  in  also 
the  unmanageable  child  or  the  child  who  has  no  home,  or  an  un¬ 
satisfactory  home,  but  who  has  not  necessarily  ever  been  convicted 
of  asocial  behaviour. 

In  summing  up  on  this  class,  I  do  not  think  there  is  much  to 
be  said  that  will  not  be  said  elsewhere  in  this  report.  Certainly 
those  who  are  pilferers  and  have  already  shown  signs  of  a  pre¬ 
dilection  for  a  sexually  irregular  life  are  likely,  if  not  helped, 


to  qualify  for  prison  later. 

2.  Intelligence. 

Prison  Group. 

Preventive  Home  Group. 

Normal 

64 

48 

Subnormal 

21 

48 

Mental  Defectives 

15 

4 

It  will  be  seen  in  this  class  that  there  is  a  considerably  larger 
figure  for  subnormal  intelligence  in  those  sent  to  Preventive 
Homes.  I  think  this  can  be  accounted  for  in  two  ways : 1 

(a)  A  number  of  these  girls  are  very  young  and  have  been 
brought  up  b}f  guardians  before  being  sent  on  to  Homes.  Repres¬ 
sion,  which  is  the  rule  of  the  day  in  institutions,  and  the  cut  and 
dried  mode  of  life  which  leaves  nothing  to  the  initiative  of  the 
child,  can  only  have  an  inhibiting  influence.  Such  children  when 
submitted  to  standardized  tests  are  likely  to  qualify  as  subnormal. 

(&)  Some  of  these  children  are  sufficiently  subnormal  in  intelli¬ 
gence  to  need  permanent  supervision,  and  the  tendency  to-day  is  to 
endeavour  to  give  them  care  and  training  in  Homes,  rather  than 
leave  them  to  drift  later  into  prisons. 

(c)  The  mental  defectives  of  the  prison  group  are  of  such  an 
age  as  to  have  escaped  the  mental  testing  that  is  now  applied  during 
school  age.  That  a  proportion  of  these  should  drift  into  prison  is 
understandable.  The  present-day  mental  defective  is  discovered 
as  such  usually  before  she  reaches  a  Preventive  or  Rescue  Home. 


3.  Sentiment  development. 

Prison. 

Preventive  Homes. 

Rudimentary  . 

61 

35 

Developing 

23 

48 

Normal 

16 

17 

I  should  give  the  same  reason  as  above  for  the  increased 
numbers  of  those  that  fall  into  the  developing  sentiment  group 
in  Preventive  Homes.  The  inhibited  type  of  girl  will  have 
more  sentiment  development  than  the  uninhibited  adapted  type 
of  whom  so  many  in  the  prison  group  show  only  rudimentary 
development. 

4.  Psychopathic  group. 

Prison.  Preventive  Homes. 

Psychopathic  and  Psychoneurotic  .55  .76 

Psychotic  and  Epileptic  .  .  .12  .11 

The  same  considerations  hold  good  here  as  in  (2)  and  (3)  above, 

1  See  footnote,  p.  33. 


PRISON  AND  PREVENTIVE  HOME  CASES 


43 


i.e.  the  difference  between  the  figures  55  and  76  is  accounted  for 
by  the  greater  number  of  subnormals  in  the  Preventive  Homes. 


5.  Home  conditions. 

Prison. 

Preventive  Homes. 

Vicious 

26 

9 

Unsatisfactory 

27 

41 

Satisfactory 

45 

50 

The  greater  number  of  unsatisfactory  homes  in  the  Preventive 
group  is  accounted  for  largely  by  the  number  of  those  children 
who  have  been  brought  up  in  guardian  Homes.  Institutional 
bringing  up  in  itself  is  unsatisfactory.  The  absence  of  parental 
love  has  far-reaching  effects,  the  importance  of  which  in  the 
development  of  the  child  cannot  be  over-estimated. 


SECTION  V.  THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 
A.  Introduction. 

In  this  section  I  have  selected  from  the  whole  mass  of  material 
a  few  cases  whose  histories  have  been  given  in  extenso  and 
discussed  somewhat  fully.  Some  of  these  cases  have  been  seen 
by  me  at  intervals  over  a  period  of  several  years.  It  is  hoped,  by 
this  selection,  to  emphasize  the  social,  environmental,  and  psycho¬ 
logical  factors  at  work  in  bringing  about  asocial  behaviour. 

What  has  been  demonstrated  in  these  sample  cases  may  be 
assumed  to  be  demonstrable  in  all  the  subjects  of  this  group. 
The  deeper  one  delves  into  the  psychology  of  these  individuals, 
the  more  insight  is  obtained  into  their  fantasy  life  and  the 
various  mechanisms  at  work  in  dealing  with  that  fantasy  life. 

I  think  it  will  be  agreed  that  no  case  in  this  series  will  ever 
benefit  in  any  way  from  imprisonment  or  simple  residence  in 
Homes.  In  each  case  we  find  evidence  of  psychoneurosis  or  of 
psychotic  trends.  In  some  of  them  we  find  a  definite  history  of 
marked  psychotic  symptoms  or  some  general  nervous  instability 
in  either  one  or  other,  or  both  of  the  parents.  Environment,  as  a 
special  factor,  has,  of  course,  played  its  part  in  asocial  behaviour, 
but  there  is  no  evidence  that  environment  alone  has  produced 
bad  results.  Incidents  which  appear  to  have  a  traumatic  effect 
are  not  necessarily  in  themselves  the  original  causes  of  sub¬ 
sequent  behaviour  ;  for  instance,  in  Case  1,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  this  girl’s  behaviour  was  due,  either  to  her  being  shut  in  the 
cupboard  for  punishment  as  a  child,  or  to  the  fright  of  seeing  a 
man  exposed. 

Repetitions  of  the  same  reactions,  of  the  same  compulsions,  of 
the  same  depressions,  occur  over  and  over  again  with  a  monotony 
that  is  wearisome.  The  woman  in  Case  18  is  criticized,  gets 
depressed,  takes  alcohol  to  remove  the  depression,  becomes  drunk 
and  disorderly,  and  is  taken  up  by  the  police.  There  are  count¬ 
less  times  when  she  repeats  this  behaviour,  and,  whether  or 
not  the  ill  chance  of  meeting  a  policeman  at  the  moment  of  intoxi¬ 
cation  comes  her  way,  the  weary  cycle  goes  on :  criticism, 


44 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

depression,  alcoholism.  Case  17  similarly  becomes  depressed,  ex¬ 
cited,  destroys,  finds  relief,  and  is  remorseful;  and  this  sequence 
of  events  is  present  every  time  before  the  onset  of  menstruation. 
In  Case  3  we  have  a  more  complicated  state  of  affairs,  but  here 
again  we  get  the  same  kind  of  monotony  of  procedure.  Any  odds 
and  ends,  any  small  pretty  object  tempts  this  girl  to  possess  it  and 
to  hoard  it,  objects  having  no  value  in  her  eyes  other  than  that 
they  are  pretty  and  small.  No  one  would  arrest  a  girl  for  picking 
up  or  deliberately  taking  a  red  bead,  but  if  she  took  a  diamond 
the  case  is  otherwise,  and  yet  both  red  bead  and  diamond  would  be 
of  equal  value  in  her  eyes.  They  must  be  possessed  and  hoarded 
because  they  are  small  and  pretty.  If  punishment  were  a  rational 
cure  for  this  condition,  it  would  be  as  sane  to  punish  her  as 
severely  for  picking  up  and  pocketing  a  red  bead  as  for  picking 
up  and  pocketing  a  diamond.  Again,  in  all  these  cases,  in  vary¬ 
ing  degrees,  with  the  exception  of  those  where  there  is  evidence 
of  psychosis,  there  is  full  agreement  on  the  part  of  the  unfortunate 
with  the  attitude  society  holds  towards  her  act — in  other  words, 
her  own  moral  standard  with  regard  to  her  actions  is  that  of 
society’s.  She  deprecates  them,  is  full  of  shame,  remorse,  agony, 
that  she  cannot  help  herself.  Where  psychotic  trends  or  symptoms 
are  present,  this  distress  and  insight  tend  to  vary  with  time  and 
mood.  In  Cases  10  and  16,  where  psychotic  trends  were  present, 
we  get  the  immediate  situation  (that  is  to  say,  the  prison  condi¬ 
tions)  provoking  the  psychotic  manifestations.  Nevertheless, 
underlying  this  state,  as  in  the  Case  of  No.  16,  one  could  detect 
shame  and  dissatisfaction  with  her  course  of  conduct  outside  prison. 
This  dissatisfaction  appeared  at  first  to  be  entirely  absent  in  Case 
10,  where  the  girl’s  mental  and  moral  development  was  very  low  ; 
but  it  could  be  detected  in  her  over-protestation  that  she  was 
not  ‘immoral’.  In  Case  6,  the  girl  was  absorbed  in  her  misery  ; 
but  her  reaction  to  the  idea  that  she  had  stolen,  in  so  far  as  she 
appreciated  or  gave  attention  to  this  accusation,  was  perfectly 
normal. 

Another  point  of  outstanding  importance  is  that  abnormality 
of  behaviour  and  psychic  instability  can  be  traced  back  to  child¬ 
hood  in  every  case.  Moreover,  the  particular  form  of  antisocial 
behaviour  for  which  a  girl  was  undergoing  sentence  could  also  be 
traced  back  to  early  childhood.  From  this,  we  may  legitimately 
argue  that  such  treatment  as  we  may  be  able  to  offer  these  people 
at  this  present  time,  so  far  as  it  can  be  curative  or  at  least  amelior¬ 
ate  the  inner  psychological  condition,  would  have  been  of  double 
value  if  it  had  been  applied  at  an  early  age.  Putting  it  another 
way,  if  we  once  realize  that  criminal  actions  are  not  the  product 
of  a  momentary  impulse,  but  the  product  of  a  pathological  pattern 
of  psychology,  the  earlier  we  discover  the  pathological  condition 
and  the  earlier  we  treat  it.  the  more  likely  are  we  to  save  such 
individuals  from  a  criminal  career. 

I  have  shown  evidence  of  psychotic  reactions  in  several  of  the 
cases,  but  the  period  over  which  I  saw  these  individuals  does  not 
warrant  me  in  making  a  final  diagnosis  of  a  progressive  psychosis 
in  any  one  of  them.  Certainly  Nos.  10  and  16  could  be  termed 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


45 


cases  of  prison  psychosis,  i.e.  a  psychosis  which  develops  jis  a 
reaction  to  definite  environment,  but  whether  in  the  sense  of 
Siefert  and  Gleuck  I  am  not  ready  to  say.  No  evidence  was 
obtainable  as  to  the  family  histories  of  either  of  these  cases 
which  indicated  in  any  way  the  presence  of  hereditary  taint.  In 
Case  10  there  is  subnormal  intelligence  :  but  intellectual  defect, 
per  se,  does  not  necessarily  result  in  criminal  actions  nor  in 
psychoses  ;  nevertheless  I  should  class  her  as  one  of  the  truculent 
type  of  intellectual  defect,  and  therefore  we  might  call  her  a  de¬ 
generative  psychotic. 

In  Case  lfi  there  was  no  question  whatsoever  of  defective  in¬ 
telligence.  In  her  case,  she  had  responded,  it  is  true,  with  less 
violence,  but  nevertheless  with  the  same  delusions1  with  regard 
to  her  excretions,  that  is,  she  responded  psychotically  to  the  prison 
environment.  In  both  of  these  cases  their  behaviour  in  ordinary 
life  was  irregular,  resistive  to  discipline  of  any  kind,  and  on  the 
whole  impulsive.  The  pressure  of  the  enforced  discipline  of 
penal  life  seems  to  have  forced  these  temporary  and  economic 
psychoses  to  emerge.  I  think  it  is  justifiable  to  class  the  hysteri¬ 
cal  smasher  with  this  type  of  case  in  respect  of  the  general 
characterology  of  these  individuals.  They  may  not  all  have 
degenerative  bases  or  show  evidence  of  psychoses,  but  what  they 
all  have  in  common  is  this  irritable  reaction  towards  anything 
that  in  any  sense  of  the  word  might  be  called  thwarting.  They 
are  all  very  egoistic  and  hypersensitive.  They  all  tend  to  have 
paranoid  reactions,  feeling  that  everybody  and  everything  is 
ordained  so  as  to  injure  them  in  some  way  or  another.  In  many 
cases  the  smashes  are  revenge  or  defences  against  injuries  which 
they  imagine  are  about  to  be  inflicted.  Any  one  who  is  unable, 
because  of  his  psychological  structure,  to  submit  to  the  slightest 
impediment  is  necessarily  going  to  become  and  remain  anti¬ 
social  ;  but  whether  this  rebel  state  is  due  to  heredity  or  acquired, 
can  only  be  found  out  by  the  study  of  each  individual  case,  and 
probably  in  most  cases  we  shall  find  that  the  causative  factors  are 
not  one  but  several.  Certain  it  is  that  this  class  of  psychopath  is 
and  must  always  be  recidivistic,  and  there  is  very  little  difference 
between  letting  this  type  of  ease  out  to  prey  upon  the  public  and 
letting  certain  types  of  insane  patients  out  to  prey  upon  them.  In 
the  one  case  a  recognized  form  of  psychosis  makes  it  permissive 
to  keep  the  individual  suffering  therefrom  in  segregation,  while 
in  the  other  type  the  individual  is  allowed  to  prey  continually 
upon  society,  since  science  so  far  has  not  been  able  to  bring  him 
within  the  category  of  legal  insanity. 

Summing  up,  I  think  it  might  be  said  that  the  following  conclu¬ 
sions  are  supported  by  the  material  set  out  in  this  section : 

1.  The  necessity  for  full  investigation  of  all  cases.  Reformative 
penal  or  institutional  measures  must  be  futile  in  the  absence  of 
this. 

2.  That  psychotherapeutic  treatment  should  be  available  for 
every  case  where  the  investigation  shows  it  to  be  necessary. 


1  Cf.  Case  10. 


46 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

3.  That  preventive  measures  by  timely  diagnosis  and  treatment 
at  an  early  age  should  be  taken. 

4.  That  segregation  of  cases  other  than  those  included  within 
the  present  regulations  is  necessary.  The  term  legal  irrespon- 
sibilit}'  might  be  used  to  replace  the  term  legal  insanity  and  so 
avoid  the  invidious  distinction  between  ‘sane’  and  ‘insane’. 

I  have  presented  the  following  twenty  cases  as  being  repre¬ 
sentative  of  the  whole  group,  and  have  tried  to  bring  out 
clearty  such  points  of  interest  as  are  peculiar  to  each.  As  far  as 
possible,  I  have  kept  to  the  wording  used  b}r  the  girls  in  recounting 
what  they  told  me ;  hoping  in  this  way  to  enable  the  reader  to 
gain  some  understanding  of  their  personalities  (for  example,  in 
Case  8,  although  her  intelligence  as  registered  by  mental  testing 
was  normal,  yet  the  girl  spoke  and  thought  in  the  way  of  a  child 
of  six  or  seven). 

B.  Case  Histories. 

Case  1. 

Age  30,  Education:  Elementary  and  Secondary  Schools. 
Number  of  children  born :  three.  Position  of  child  in  family  : 
youngest. 

This  girl  came  under  my  notice  at  the  very  beginning  of  my 
investigation,  before  I  had  developed  any  scheme  of  work,  while 
I  was,  so  to  speak,  meandering  in  and  out  of  these  girls’  lives 
collecting  impressions ;  occasionally  branching  out  into  a  more 
active  role  and  watching  the  effects  of  various  endeavours,  experi¬ 
ments  in  psychotherapy,  dropping  this  side  completely  later  with 
the  realization  that  what  could  be  effected  under  existing  circum¬ 
stances  was  not  only  transitory  or  useless,  but  even  detrimental 
in  impairing  the  field  for  future  attempts  at  cure  or  amelioration 
under  ideal  conditions.  I  finally  confined  myself  to  observation 
alone  ;  except  in  one  or  two  cases  where  I  was  drawn  aside  from 
my  purpose  by  the  desire  immediately  to  render  what  aid  I  could, 
and  this  only  confirmed  what  I  already  knew.  This  case,  then, 
was  one  in  which  psychotherapy  was  tried  in  addition  to  the 
merely  passive  observation  to  which  I  ultimately  limited  my¬ 
self. 

The  girl  was  in  for  obtaining  goods  by  false  pretences.  She 
had  several  previous  convictions  and  on  many  occasions  had 
committed  the  same  offence  without  discovery,  or,  if  discovered, 
no  action  had  been  taken.  Her  age  is  about  thirty,  she  gave  it 
as  twenty-eight,  but  as  she  was  twenty-seven  three  years  ago  it 
is  obvious  that  her  age,  as  well  as  so  many  other  facts  she  relates 
about  herself,  have  undergone  distortion.  She  cannot  tell  the 
truth ;  cannot,  not  will  not.  To  get  anything  like  a  chronological 
history  out  of  her  was  an  impossibility ;  to  tell  an  incident  in 
her  life  with  any  approximate  degree  of  accuracy  was  as  impos¬ 
sible  ;  and  this  with  a  real  desire  to  tell  the  truth  which  one  could 
watch  her  struggling  to  express.  It  was  so  palpable  to  both 
parties  in  the  conversation  that,  even  while  she  was  telling  these 
stories,  she,  by  her  manner,  said  :  ‘  What  I  am  telling  you  is  all 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


47 


make-up.  I  know  you  realize  this,  but  I  cannot  help  telling  you 
it  this  way  all  the  same.’  It  was  only  in  the  later  stages  that  she 
was  so  obviously  guilty  while  she  spoke.  At  first  she  really 
believed  she  was  being  taken  at  face  value,  and  not  for  a  long 
time  did  I  in  any  way  disillusion  her.  But  during  this  early 
period  the  fantastic  stories  she  told  of  herself  led  me  astray  in 
understanding  the  foundation  of  facts  upon  which  she  built  up 
her  fantasies.  I  thought  more  was  fictitious  than  actually  was 
so.  And  it  was  only  later,  when  a  part  of  her  life  outside  prison 
was  enacted  under  my  own  eyes,  when  I  was  in  frequent  contact 
with  her  for  four  months  after  her  release,  that  I  was  enabled  to 
arrive  at  any  degree  of  the  true  estimation  between  fact  and 
fantasy. 

Her  parents  were  lowly  and  uneducated  people  of  a  superior 
type.  Her  father  either  had  a  little  shop  of  his  own  or  was 
merely  a  shop  assistant.  He  was  also  a  lay-preacher  in  a  non¬ 
conformist  church  or  chapel.  Now  this  girl,  whom  I  shall  call 
Nora  for  the  purposes  of  this  paper,  made  the  most  elaborate 
plans  to  convince  all  those  with  whom  she  had  to  do,  that  her 
mother  and  father  were  people  of  considerable  importance  and 
of  unquestionably  high  social  standing.  She  claimed  her  father 
was  a  canon  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  as  proof  of  this 
produced  a  photograph  of  a  clergyman  of  obviously  high  intelli¬ 
gence  and  refinement.  With  this  she  showed  a  photograph  of 
a  very  handsome  woman  in  elaborate  and  costly  evening  attire 
as  her  mother.  And  with  these  photos  to  back  her  up  and 
numerous  other  aids  such  as  false  references,  she  has  repeatedly 
procured  for  herself  situations  as  governess  in  high-standing 
families,  and  this  in  spite  of  the  rather  obtrusive  lack  of  refine¬ 
ment  in  the  girl’s  manner,  speech,  and  general  appearance.  It 
was  this  lack  of  education  and  refinement  that  led  both  myself 
and  my  colleague  to  discount  the  veracity  of  her  statements 
and  to  look  upon  them  as  part  and  parcel  of  the  fantasy  world 
in  which  she  lived.  However,  we  were  mistaken,  as  I  found 
later,  when  I  got  into  communication  with  two  of  the  families 
she  mentioned  ;  and  there  is  much  of  interest  that  might  be  said 
as  to  how  she  succeeded  in  so  deceiving  her  employers,  were  it 
not  that  such  an  excursion  would  take  us  too  far  afield. 

In  addition  to  this  driving  compulsion  to  assume  a  social 
standing  above  her  own,  she  also  had  to  be  engaged  and  on  the 
verge  of  marriage  with  a  man  of  importance.  For  this  role  she 
chose  army  officers,  who  usually  developed  a  rise  in  rank  at  her 
hands.  One  such  was  an  officer  in  the  Intelligence  Department, 
a  major  with  considerable  wealth  and  who  was  most  devoted, 
hardly  letting  a  day  pass  without  sending  her  quantities  of 
flowers  or  chocolates.  The  lover  did  exist,  but  he  was  a  down- 
and-out,  ex- war  officer  of  the  rank  of  captain,  who  had  not  a  penny 
to  his  name  outside  the  pittance  that  he  received  from  his 
comparatively  poor  parents.  Nora  was  sending  herself  these 
expensive  presents. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that,  to  keep  up  these  appearances,  money,  or 
the  equivalent,  was  needed.  So  that  to  procure  clothes  by  false 


48 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

pretences  became  a  necessitj^.  But  to  procure  anything  that  at 
the  moment  would  enhance  her  value  amongst  those  with  whom 
she  found  herself  was  equally  compulsory ;  she  could  not  brook 
denial  of  anything  that  was  obtainable  by  secret  means,  even  to 
the  extent  of  waiting  for  a  more  opportune  moment.  Neverthe¬ 
less,  the  time  when  it  became  necessary  to  renew  her  wardrobe 
seemed  to  become  insistent  after  two  or  three  months  ;  but  the 
simple  matter  of  obtaining  the  goods  became  complicated  by  the 
affection  she  felt  for  the  children  and  the  respect  she  felt  for  her 
confiding  employers.  A  conflict  began  between  the  attaining  to 
her  desire  and  the  inhibition  of  such  an  ‘  unkind  ’  and  ‘  wicked  ’ 
act.  The  result  seemed  to  terminate  in  one  of  two  ways.  Either 
she  began  to  feel  ill  and  insisted  on  leaving  at  once  ;  or,  she  be¬ 
came  strange  and  ill  in  her  behaviour  and  at  the  same  time 
ordered  things  right  and  left,  usually  in  the  name  of  her  employer. 
Discovery  was  the  inevitable  result,  and  she,  relieved  from  the 
breaking  strain  of  awaiting  discovery  on  the  one  hand,  and 
crushed  and  ashamed  on  the  other  hand,  would  immediately 
start  in  on  a  new  role :  this  time  that  of  the  pitiful  and  tragic 
drug  addict  in  the  hands  of  a  mythological  persecutor.  Suicide 
was  often  threatened  ;  but  on  one  occasion  when  I  was  able,  un¬ 
known  to  her,  to  be  first  hand  witness  to  an  exhaustive  hunt  for 
some  tablets  of  which  she  claimed  possession,  none  were  found. 
No  suicide  was  ever  seriously  attempted.  Neither  at  this  nor  at 
any  other  time  did  either  my  colleague  or  myself  discover  evidence 
of  drug  addiction. 

Of  her  childhood  she  had  a  lot  to  say.  She  was  ten  years 
younger  than  her  brother  and  sister.  The  following  is  a  brief 
account  of  her  life,  written  for  me  at  my  request.  Readers  should, 
however,  bear  in  mind  her  compulsion  to  fabricate,  which  I  have 
mentioned  above.  It  is  very  incomplete,  but  time  and  facilities 
were  lacking  to  make  anything  like  a  full  account.  But  it  will 
serve  to  show  what  was  of  importance  to  her  in  her  life,  the  land¬ 
marks,  as  it  were,  behind  which  lies  the  solution  to  the  riddle  of 
her  personality.  I  shall  indicate  by  a  query  sign,  or  a  parenthesis, 
where  I  suspect,  or  have  reason  to  know,  that  the  facts  have  been 
tampered  with. 

‘I  was  born  on  May  29,  1898,  and  cannot  remember  much  of 
my  early  childhood,  except  that  I  was  always  spoken  of  as  a 
“  queer  child  ”.  Being  10  years  younger  than  my  brother  and 
sister,  I  had  no  companions,  but  never  wanted  the  companionship 
of  other  children  as  I  remember  distinctly  that  I  lived  in  a  world 
of  my  own,  having  a  very  vivid  imagination.  I  loved  to  collect 
beautiful  dolls  around  me.  imagining  they  were  my  children,  and 
I  would  play  with  them  for  hours  alone.  I  remember  hearing 
it  said  that  it  was  useless  trying  to  make  me  pay  visits,  and  that 
I  would  cry  until  ill  with  temper  until  I  was  left  alone.  A  black 
doll  was  once  given  me  and  I  promptly  threw  it  in  the  donor’s 
face  and  wondered  how  anyone  dared  give  me  anything  so  ugly, 
as  I  dreaded  anything  that  was  not  beautiful  in  some  way.  I 
never  seemed  to  fear  anybody  or  anything  (she  had  a  phobia  of 
dark  places  and  closed  doors  ;  and  at  the  time  of  writing,  although 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


49 


in  prison,  was  compelled  to  look  under  her  bed  and  into  cupboards 
and  drawers,  however  small,  every  night  for  possible  burglars. 
This  phobia,  she  traced  back  to  an  event  in  the  third  year  of  her 
life),  and  when  about  four  years  I  remember  being  told  I  was  to 

present  a  bouquet  of  flowers  to  the  Lord  Mayor  of - and  his 

wife  (this,  of  course,  could  be  true).  Father,  to  whom  ever 

since  I  can  remember,  I  idolized  (note  the  phraseology)  had 
previously  told  me  that  it  was  an  unclean  habit  to  pick  up 
cigarette  ends  and  that  only  nasty  dirty  men  smoked.  Iliad  an 
excellent  memory,  and  when  my  Mother  took  me  to  the  big  public 
ceremony,  I  noticed  the  Lord  Mayor  put  down  a  cigar  before 
going  on  to  the  platform,  and  I  promptly  told  him  while  throwing 
the  flowers  at  the  Mayoress,  that  “  he  was  a  nasty,  dirty  man  ” 
because  my  daddy  said  so.  I  remember  always  feeling  a  bitter 
resentment  against  my  Mother  because  she  was  always  admired 
for  her  looks  and  artistic  abilities,  and  because  my  Father  devoted 
himself  to  her  in  every  way.  I  also  felt  that  as  the  plain  member 
of  the  family  I  was  a  great  disappointment  to  her,  and  I  once 
heard  her  say  that  “  she  had  never  felt  well  since  she  was  born  ”. 
Because  she  kissed  me  one  night  wearing  jade  (coloured)  earings 
and  asked  my  Father  to  get  her  something,  thus  preventing  him 
saying  good-night,  I  always  hated  green  and  have  never  worn  the 
colour  since.  I  was  always  very  outspoken  in  my  remarks  and 
astonished  the  family  and  friends  on  Xmas  by  coining  down 
stairs  draped  solely  in  a  scarf  having  got  the  idea  from  an  Indian 
Picture  Book  showing  a  Native  Dancer.  I  was  kept  in  complete 
ignorance  of  physical  things  and  when  I  was  about  Ilf  years 
when  I  became  unwell  I  told  my  Father  at  the  tea-table  that  I 
had  cut  my  leg  and  it  wouldn't  stop  bleeding.  My  Mother  told 
me  what  to  do  and  I  was  not  curious  in  any  way.  At  school  I 
was  considered  to  be  a  clever  child  tho’  much  too  quick  for  my 
years  (she  claims  to  have  passed  exams  about  which  from  the 
mother  I  have  the  following  answer  to  my  enquiry :  “  she  ’as 
passed  no  exams  except  for  Music  for  Trinity  College  exam.”). 
Sewing  I  always  hated,  and  bribe  any  girl  to  do  my  ugly  bit  of 
a  specimen  in  return  for  doing  her  sums.  I  distinctly  remember 
that  as  I  was  to  be  awarded  the  first  prize  for  Literature  and 
Mathematics,  my  Mother  said  I  could  have  a  new  dress.  The 
prize  day  turned  out  to  be  a  very  bad  day,  and  so,  as  I  had  quite 
a  few  pretty  dresses,  my  Mother  said  that  it  would  spoil  the  new 
dress  and  I  was  to  wear  another.  I  flew  into  a  terrible  rage  and 
hurled  a  knife  at  my  Mother,  but  luckily  hurt  nobody.  I  cried 
myself  ill  and  was  unable  to  go.  I  was  always  over-sensitive, 
and  frequently  had  these  rages,  and  often  had  to  stay  in  bed  for 
three  days  at  a  time  with  sick  head  after.  When  I  was  about 
thirteen  years  I  met  and  made  a  friend  of  a  girl  called  Diary  who 
was  my  opposite  in  every  way  being  just  as  calm  and  even- 
tempered  as  I  was  erratic  and  impulsive.  We  went  to  classes 
and  school  together,  and  practically  became  more  inseparable 
than  sisters.  I  seemed  to  change  when  I  was  fourteen,  and  be¬ 
came  the  ring-leader  of  mischief  at  school.  I  was  an  excellent 
mimic,  and  seemed  to  be  very  popular  with  the  girls,  tho’  I  was 
1463  D 


50 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

given  the  character  of  being  indifferent  to  punishment  and  wasting 
my  ability.  I  refused  to  study  for  exams  and  managed  to  get 
about  3rd  out  of  65  at  examination  times.  ( Vide  remark  above.) 

I  was  very  overgrown  and  had  fits  of  depression  and  restlessness 
and  wanted  to  earn  my  living,  but  had  no  idea  what  I  wanted  to 
do.  I  loved  music,  but  only  wanted  to  go  to  it  when  I  felt  like 
it,  and  I  was  continually  scribbling  poetry  and  stories  at  night. 
"When  about  17,  my  friend  and  I  decided  to  go  to  a  Domestic 
Training  College  and  as  our  homes  were  about  5  miles  from  a  Town 
we  had  to  walk  across  a  large  open  park.  I  was  walking  alone 
when  quite  suddenly  a  man,  who  was  exposed,  sprang  from  a  tree 
at  me.  I  remember  struggling,  and  racing  home,  and  nearly 
knocking  the  door  down,  but  for  three  days  I  lost  my  speech 
with  fright.  I  have  never  been  able  to  forget  that  picture  and 
I  broke  two  engagements  through  my  repulsion  at  the  thought 
of  it.  I  became  very  nervous  and  would  not  stay  alone  or  go  out 
alone.  I  gave  up  this  course  of  training  and  then  studied 
Commercial  Practice  and  went  to  a  large  works  as  secretary  to 
a  Chemical  Doctor.  The  rush  of  travelling  was  too  much  and 
I  gave  that  up  and  stayed  at  home  with  my  Mother.  I  was 
under  a  Doctor  for  a  nervous  breakdown,  as  I  was  brought  home 
from  — — -  in  the  work’s  ambulance  having  been  found  under  the 
table  in  a  kind  of  fit.  After  a  time  I  took  a  Typist’s  post  in  an 
Insurance  Office,  and  I  remember  when  20  I  was  going  to  work 
when  suddenly  I  saw  a  cab  coming  down  the  rd;  and  upon 
glancing  in  I  saw  it  was  my  Father  who  appeared  to  me  dead. 
I  ran  back  to  my  Mother  (and  she  said  she  remembered  I  smiled) 
and  said  that  Father  wasn’t  very  well  and  dashed  for  a  Doctor 
who  lived  about  five  minutes  away.  I  went  for  a  nurse,  and 
remember  sitting  up  all  night,  unable  to  say  anything,  and  quite 
unable  to  think  or  sleep.  After  a  time  my  Father  recovered 
from  the  Stroke  and  I  still  remained  at  home.  About  four 
months  after  this  my  Mother  was  going  to  a  Dinner  (?)  when 
she  stepped  out  of  a  taxi  just  as  it  was  beginning  to  move,  and 
sustained  a  broken  leg.  Whilst  bringing  her  home  she  fainted, 
and  when  I  answered  the  door  she  looked  as  if  she  was  dead,  and 
they  told  me  she  was.  I  remember  being  too  stunned  to  help 
when  she  came  round.  The  same  week  I  had  accepted  an  invita¬ 
tion  to  a  party  and  as  my  Mother  was  better  I  went.  I  was 
regarded  as  the  chief  fun-maker  but  felt  somehow  as  if  I  must 
go  to  my  friend  who  had  not  been  invited.  I  rushed  back  three 
miles  terrified  at  the  darkness,  and  found  my  friend  in  her  room 
with  a  slight  cold.  Her  surprise  and  my  relief  were  equally 
great.  Next  day  she  was  taken  to  a  Nursing  Home  and  the 
following  day  I  was  telephoned  for  and  went  to  see  her.  She 
appeared  well  and  said  she  had  no  pain.  We  discussed  Xmas 
presents  when  suddenly  she  asked  me  to  hold  her  and  died.  I 
went  home  and  told  my  people  and  smiled  about  it.  I  took  a 
bowl  of  flowers  and  put  them  on  the  coffin  and  I  did  not  cry  or 
sleep  for  about  10  wks  (she  appears  to  have  had  a  struggle  here 
between  making  it  weeks  or  months) :  after  that  I  grew  tired  of 
home  and  got  another  post  as  secretary.  I  met  a  man  there  and 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


51 


we  became  engaged,  but  I  was  always  ill  and  moody,  feeling 
a  perfect  beast  when  “  unwell  I  quite  suddenly  amazed  every¬ 
one  with  going  into  six  shops  and  obtaining  goods  and  groceries 
under  False  Pretence.  I  didn’t  cry  or  say  anything,  and  because 
of  respect  to  my  people  I  was  tried  and  fined  at  once  and  taken 
home  as  the  Mayor  said  “  he’d  known  me  from  a  child  as  always 
honourable,”  but  my  solicitor  said  he  thought  “I  should  go  on 
until  I  got  to  Penal  Servitude  ”,  so  mjr  sister  said.  I  brooded 
over  this  and  finally  ran  away  to  — — .  I  decided  to  marry  an 
officer  there  and  all  was  ready  when  I  suddenly  went  into  another 
shop  there.  He  pleaded  for  me  and  the  Magistrates  fined  me 
again.  I  went  to  his  people  and  he  was  recalled  and  was  killed 
(this  part  of  the  story  was  different  when  last  I  heard  it).  I  went 

to - as  a  Governess  and  did  it  again  (always  carefully  putting 

the  thing  away  unused).  I  was  sent  to  Prison  for  12  mths.  I 
was  released  and  went  to  a  Vicarag(  j)  where  the  Vicar  was  so 

objectionable  that  I  ran  away.  I  went  to - with  a  False 

Character  tho’  there  was  no  need  for  me  to  do  that,  but  it  pleased 
me  to  write  it  and  was  imprisoned  again  and  subsequently  twice 
more  for  the  same  thing.  I  then  went  as  a  companion — got  a 
good  place  but  felt  I  must  give  it  (up).  I  came  to  London  for 
two  days  and  did  it  again  as  I  felt  so  ill  that  I  must  take  it  out 
of  somebody.’ 

The  peculiar  phrasing  and  the  use  of  capital  letters  are  indica¬ 
tions  of  how  far  her  education  went.  This  is  of  interest  when  we 
recall  the  astonishing  fact  that  this  girl  was  able  to  pass  herself 
off  to  her  employers  as  a  university  graduate.  It  is  easy  also  to 
trace  the  compulsive  need  of  hers  to  be  always  the  central  figure 
in  every  setting,  whether  in  the  role  of  the  clever  child,  the 
naughty  unmanageable  child,  or  in  any  other  capacity.  Another 
interesting  point  is  that,  although  she  was  asked  to  jot  down  in 
chronological  order,  as  far  as  she  was  able,  the  chief  events  of  her 
life  in  order  to  refresh  my  memory,  she  not  only  described  each 
event  in  detail  but  had  also  missed  out  a  great  deal  that  was  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  her  when  I  first  made  her  acquaintance 
several  years  ago.  Her  terror  of  the  dark,  of  being  alone,  her 
stories  of  drug  addiction,  her  travels  in  Canada  and  Jamaica  and 
the  happenings  there  (mainly  extraordinary  behaviour  coupled 
with  bad  health),  the  story  of  her  taking  part  in  point-to-point 
races  competing  against  one  or  other  of  the  Princes :  all  these 
events  were  not  forgotten,  since  they  came  up  in  conversation,  but 
obviously  had  not  the  same  conscious  importance  that  they  had 
had  previously.  Coming  to  prison  again  and  being  confined  in  a 
cell  was  necessarily  stimulating  her  claustrophobia  at  the  time  at 
which  she  was  writing  the  above  account  for  me,  and  yet  she  did 
not  mention  it ;  in  fact  she  denied  the  experience  of  fear  at  any 
time. 

She  did  not  suffer  from  delusions;  her  fabrications  were  all 
known  to  her  and  freely  and  ashamedly  admitted  whenever  they 
were  exposed.  What  she  posed  as  being  was  what  she  wanted  to 
be,  but  she  lacked  all  power  to  reach  that  position  through  the 
ordinary  ways  and  means  by  which  a  person  betters  his  social 


52 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

position  in  this  world,  so  accomplished  it  through  cunning,  and 
this  did  violence  to  her  ethical  sense.  She  had  many  likes  and 
dislikes,  especially  in  the  way  of  food.  She  ‘  couldn't  do  ’  this 
and  she  ‘couldn’t  do  ’  that ;  she  hated  needlework  of  any  kind  ; 
housework  was  beneath  her.  But  neither  was  she  able  to  study 
and  so  make  certain  of  her  part ;  she  could  not  apply  herself  to 
anything. 

In  her  sexual  life,  she  plays  the  role  of  the  innocent  girl  who 
is  horrified  and  disgusted  at  the  idea  of  sexual  congress,  and  yet 
could  ask  me  questions  that  displayed  a  knowledge  of  the  most 
intimate  details,  and  would  give  me  information  as  to  the  success 
or  lack  of  success  on  the  part  of  her  lovers  with  her  (this,  of 
course,  could  be  fantasy),  although  she  would  claim  never  to  have 
given  herself  to  any  one.  She  associates  her  depressions  with 
her  menses.  At  that  time  she  feels  she  must  hurt  some  one,  and 
until  she  does  this  she  is  restless,  morose,  sleepless,  and  queer  in 
her  behaviour  with  people.  She  claims  that  she  is  always  in  this 
condition  when  she  finally  goes  off  and  obtains  goods.  I  was  not 
able  to  ascertain  whether  this  relationship  between  her  actions 
and  menstruation  existed  or  not.  There  may  have  been  a  climax 
at  such  times  when  she  threw  all  precaution  to  the  winds ;  but 
the  depredations  were  never  confined  to  this  period  alone. 
Another  factor  which  probably  had  something  to  do  with  the 
final  denouement,  and  which  I  have  mentioned  elsewhere  in 
passing,  was  that  her  conscience  became  more  and  more  insistent 
as  she  realized  how  much  she  was  being  trusted  and  appreciated 
for  her  success  with  the  children.  The  terrible  ‘  What  if  I  am 
discovered  ’  loomed  larger  and  larger,  as  she  thought  of  how 
shocked  the  children  and  the  parents  would  be  if  they  discovered 
how  they  had  been  deceived. 

Her  reference  had  also  to  be  to  her  liking.  On  occasions  when 
she  had  an  excellent  reference,  she  would  nevertheless  write  out 
a  highly  appreciative  one  for  herself,  and  use  this  in  preference 
to  the  real  one.  There  was  a  special  joy  in  this  narration  of  her 
character  and  abilities  which  she  could  not  forgo,  although  fully 
aware  of  the  risks  she  ran  on  discovery. 

She  had  had  six  fits  (?)  during  her  lifetime,  but  I  was  unable 
to  obtain  any  details  about  them,  except  that,  on  one  occasion, 
she  was  found  lying  under  the  table.  She  had  repeatedly  been 
in  the  hands  of  doctors  for  sleeplessness ;  and  also  at  times  when 
her  behaviour  had  been  strange  (hysterical  fugue). 

Once  when  in  Bermuda  while  in  one  of  these  nervous  states, 
when  all  the  family  was  out,  she  says  she  took  the  car,  which 
recently  she  had  learned  to  drive,  and  drove  seventy  miles  up- 
country  to  a  native  store.  There  she  stole  two  red  cotton  hand¬ 
kerchiefs  and  returned.  Anything  more  apparently  absurd  and 
pointless  in  behaviour  it  would  be  difficult  to  demonstrate.  At 
another  time  in  South  Africa,  for  weeks  on  end  she  did  not  put 
out  her  laundry,  but  carried  it  to  the  basement  and  stored  it  in 
a  trunk.  She  would  then  scold  the  laundry  maids  for  not  doing 
her  laundry  and  accuse  them  of  being  very  unkind  to  her.  Her 
employer,  who  thought  her  manner  strange,  watched  and  saw 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


53 


her  carry  these  bundles  to  the  basement.  When  he  showed  Nora 
where  her  clothes  were,  she  claimed  to  have  no  recollection  of 
putting  them  there  :  another  apparently  senseless  procedure  on 
her  part  (hysterical  fugue).  The  employer  sent  her  home,  telling 
her  she  was  ill  and  should  get  treatment. 

I  think  there  is  enough  here  to  convince  laymen  and  the 
medical  profession  alike  that  the  employer’s  diagnosis  of  the  case 
was  right,  and  yet  this  girl  is  being  repeatedly  committed  to 
prison  for  these  offences  and  likely  to  be  so  till  the  end  of  her 
days.  Apart  from  the  humanity  of  the  thing,  is  it  not  of  econo¬ 
mical  importance  that  such  a  case — who  is  so  heavy  a  charge  on 
the  State,  and  is  likely  to  continue  to  be  so  throughout  her  life — 
should  have  every  possible  treatment  in  the  hope  of  bringing 
about  a  cure  ?  And  it  follows  that,  whatever  treatment  is  under¬ 
taken,  it  should  be  made  available  under  conditions  that  would 
give  the  best  chance  of  success;  and  these  conditions  clearly 
cannot  be  those  pertaining  to  prison  life. 

Case  2. 

Mrs.  B.,  aged  40,  was  in  for  stealing  a  dress.  She  had 
once  before  committed  a  similar  offence.  She  married  at  the  age 
of  16  a  man  aged  21.  Her  father  advised  her  not  to  do  so,  as  he 
considered  the  man  was  not  quite  normal.  He  acted  at  times  ‘  so 
queerly  He  was  violent  in  temper,  and  before  his  marriage  had 
already  shown  himself  capable  of  unkindness  towards  this  girl. 
Her  married  life  was  one  of  continual  ill-treatment  from  her 
husband.  He  was  jealous  of  her  every  movement.  He  accused 
her  of  poisoning  the  food,  and  he  used  to  knock  her  about  badly. 
Finally,  after  nine  years,  he  was  certified  and  removed  to  an 
asylum. 

She  had  had  five  children,  two  of  whom  had  died  of  meningitis. 
When  her  husband  was  removed,  she  was  allowed  by  the  parish 
one  shilling  and  sixpence  per  head  per  child,  and  nothing  for 
herself.  The  consequence  was  that  her  children  had  to  be  sent 
to  Homes.  She  went  into  domestic  service  and  paid  what  she 
could  towards  the  childi'en’s  upkeep  in  these  Homes. 

About  ten  years  ago  she  went  to  live  with  a  man  whom  she 
wished  to  marry,  had  she  been  free  to  do  so.  She  has  lived  with 
this  man  ever  since.  Although  he  and  she  look  upon  themselves 
as  being  married,  yet,  because  of  this  husband  who  has  been  in 
the  asylum  for  fifteen  years,  they  cannot  be  legally  married. 
Her  present  husband  joined  up  in  1916,  and  she  drew  money  for 
herself  (this  was  apparently  all  in  order),  and  also  for  the  children 
(which  was  not  in  order).  At  the  time  she  was  doubtful  about 
drawing  this  money,  but  her  husband  assured  her  that  it  was 
‘  quite  right  ’.  When  this  was  discovered,  she  was  imprisoned 
for  taking  money  on  false  pretences. 

Four  years  ago  she  stole  a  dress,  and  now  she  has  done  the 
same  thing  again.  Immediately  after  telling  me,  she  added, 
‘  I  did  not  want  it  either,  I  had  a  buzzing  in  the  head,  I  cannot 
think  why  I  did  it  ’,  and  cried.  (She  has  never  had  any  inclina¬ 
tion  to  steal  at  any  other  times.)  ‘  My  husband  and  I  want 


54 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

children.  He  is  passionately  fond  of  them.  I  cannot  see  why 
I  cannot  have  them  with  him.  With  my  first  husband,  when 
I  did  not  want  them,  I  fell  every  time.’  This  was  immediately 
followed  by  a  very  full  account  of  attacks  of  diarrhoea  and 
vomiting  which  had  occurred  almost  continuously  over  a  period 
of  four  years,  that  is.  since  the  first  time  of  stealing  a  dress.  Then 
followed  an  account  of  her  husband’s  sister-in-law,  who  lives  in 
the  lower  portion  of  their  house.  The  sister-in-law  drinks.  She 
has  a  good  husband  and  a  number  of  children,  but  she  is  filthily 
dirty  (the  prisoner  is  spotlessly  clean).  This  worries  Mrs.  B. 
a  lot.  The  children  obey  the  calls  of  nature  anywhere  and  every¬ 
where.  Mrs.  B.  is  responsible  for  the  stair  and  lavatory,  and 
it  makes  her  ill  to  go  near  the  place.  Every  time  she  does  so  it 
brings  on  diarrhoea.  For  this  reason  she  has  frequently  to  go 
there,  and  this,  of  course,  increases  her  nausea  and  vomiting.  She 
is  indignant  about  her  sister-in-law’s  neglect  of  the  children. 
Just  before  she  stole  she  had  been  disgusted  and  angry  with  the 
woman  below.  During  that  night  she  had  a  terrible  nightmare. 
She  frequently  has  the  same  nightmare.  Her  husband,  quite 
mad,  is  under  the  bed.  She  then  saw  herself  in  prison.  She 
woke  up  terrified,  and  her  present  husband  had  some  trouble  to 
comfort  her.  Next  day  she  had  to  wait  a  few  minutes  for  a  bus, 
so  went  inside  a  shop,  which  was  having  a  sale,  to  look  around, 
but  with  no  intention  to  buy  anything.  Next  thing  she  knew 
was  that  some  one  was  saying,  ‘  What  is  that  in  your  basket  ?  ’ 
There  was  a  black  dress  in  her  basket.  She  had  taken  no  trouble 
to  cover  it,  and  she  does  not  remember  taking  it.  Further,  it 
was  perfectly  useless  to  her.  It  was  far  too  small  for  one  of  her 
size.  She  offered  to  pay  for  it,  but  the}'’  refused  to  accept  the 
money  and  arrested  her.  She  had  a  buzzing  in  the  head  all  the 
time  she  was  in  the  shop,  which  only  left  her  when  she  came  out 
into  the  open  air.  She  cannot  even  now  remember  taking  the 
dress,  but  seemed  perfectly  able  to  appreciate  the  fact  as  soon  as 
her  attention  was  called  to  it.  The  previous  occasion  on  which 
she  stole  she  did  not  recollect  the  act.  I  am  inclined  to  look 
upon  these  states  on  both  occasions  as  being  that  of  hysterical 
fugue.  Psychotherapy  is  undoubtedly  necessary  in  this  case. 
Removal  to  another  house  would  serve  to  lessen  the  constant 
stimulation  she  suffers  from  by  the  presence  of  her  sister-in-law, 
but  it  would  not  touch  the  root  of  the  trouble,  which  is  psycho¬ 
logical. 

Case  3. 

Age :  27.  Education  :  Elementary,  Standard  VII.  Number  of 
children  in  family  :  six.  Position  of  girl  in  family  :  eldest. 

In  presenting  this  case  I  shall  first  give  the  history  as  she 
gave  it  to  me ;  this  will  be  followed  by  lengthy  extracts  from 
several  long  letters  which  I  received  from  the  mother.  This  is 
done  to  show  how  much  insight  was  present  on  the  side  both  of 
the  unfortunate  girl  and  on  that  of  the  mother  ;  how  the  girl  felt 
her  terrible  need  of  help,  and  of  how  the  very  intelligent  mother 
had  bravely  done  all  she  could  for  this  girl.  It  will  serve  to 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


55 


show  how,  if  there  were  any  systematized  clinic  whither  such 
intelligent  mothers  could  bring  their  delinquent  children,  they 
would  not  be  altogether  backward  in  doing  so. 

This  girl,  Daisy  by  name,  is  very  intelligent.  She  is  a  great 
talker;  she  seems  driven  by  some  internal  force,  but  she  talks  to 
the  point.  She  is  very  anxious  that  something  should  be  done 
to  stop  this  habit  of  stealing.  She  cannot  think  why  she  does  it. 
At  three  years  of  age  she  was  kicked  by  a  horse  on  the  head. 
A  year  or  so  later  she  had  measles,  since  when  she  has  suffered 
terribly  from  her  eyes  ;  at  times  she  is  nearly  blind.  Because  of 
her  eyes  she  was  unable  to  go  to  school ;  a  teacher  used  to  come 
and  help  her  at  home.  She  began  fits  at  18  years.  She  com¬ 
menced  menstruating  at  16  years  (14  years  according  to  mother 
and  the  fits  at  19  years).  The  fits  are  getting  less  recently.  She 
feels  lately  that  her  memory  is  going ;  she  cannot  remember 
recipes  for  cooking. 

She  began  stealing  as  far  back  as  she  can  remember,  almost  as 
a  baby.  She  cannot  resist  taking  pretty  things,  but  also  collects 
all  sorts  of  rubbish  and  hoards  it — odds  and  ends  of  material. 
She  never  thinks  anything  about  taking  them  until  the  things 
are  asked  for.  If  suddenly  queried,  she  tells  lies,  and  only  after 
much  effort  and  show  of  temper  she  confesses  all,  and  is  terribly 
upset  at  what  she  has  done.  Her  mother  put  her  in  a  Home  for 
two  years  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  hoping  to  cure  her,  but  it  had  no 
effect. 

She  is  very  fond  of  her  mother,  and  it  distressed  her  very  much 
when  her  mother  married  again.  Her  father  died  of  pneumonia 
when  she  was  fourteen.  Her  father  had  told  her  to  take  care  of 
her  mother  when  he  died.  She  wants  her  mother  all  to  herself 
and  resented  very  strongly  the  step-father  taking  her  place.  She 
has  nothing  against  him  except  that  he  is  very  lazy  and  lets  her 
mother  do  his  work.  Except  for  that  he  is  a  good  and  kind  man. 

She  has  had  a  ‘  boy  ’  for  four  years.  Recently  she  has  given 
him  up.  He  used  to  sponge  on  her.  She  looked  after  him  and 
mothered  him  because  he  was  down  on  his  luck  and  out  of  work  ; 
but  he  has  taken  advantage  of  that,  expecting  her  to  give  him 
nearly  all  her  wages,  and  to  do  his  washing  and  to  mend  his 
clothes  for  him.  The  engagement  is  now  broken  off.  She  told 
him  finally  that  he  must  choose  between  his  mother  and  herself 
{vide  mother’s  letters).  She  is  erratic  ;  gets  an  idea  of  doing 
something  and  must  do  it  at  once,  e.g.  she  suddenly  wished  to 
knit  baby  clothes,  purchased  the  wool  immediately,  and  knitted 
them,  although  there  was  no  baby  to  whom  she  could  give  them. 
She  is  passionately  fond  of  children  and  would  have  liked  to  be 
a  children’s  nurse,  but  because  of  her  eyes  and  fits  she  could  not 
become  one.  She  collects  clothes,  makes  them  also,  and  then 
hoards  them  as  she  cannot  bear  to  soil  them.  She  hates  dirt,  and 
dirty  people  make  her  angry ;  she  wants  to  take  them  out  and 
scrub  them.  For  a  short  while  her  periods  stopped,  and  since 
then  she  cannot  bathe.  The  moment  she  is  in  water  she  becomes 
giddy.  At  about  the  same  time  she  became  unable  to  go  down¬ 
stairs  in  the  usual  manner ;  she  must  go  down  them  backwards 


56 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

or  she  must  sit  on  the  stairs  and  look  over  her  left  shoulder.  She 
gets  ‘  tremendous  ’  flushes  and  head  throbbing  at  night  and  often 
hears  some  one  squealing.  This  squealing  has  come  on  since  she 
had  influenza,  which  left  her  with  a  permanent  buzzing  in  the 
ear.  She  frequently  has  nightmare.  In  these  horrifying  dreams 
something  is  always  going  to  crush  her  or  eat  her  up.  The  room 
walls  begin  to  close  in  on  her  and  the  ceiling  to  come  down ;  or 
she  is  being  drowned  ;  or  a  great  monster  with  huge  jaws  and 
teeth  threatens  to  eat  her.  She  never  has  a  pleasant  dream. 
Since  she  has  been  in  prison  she  is  always  dreaming  of  policemen 
beating  her.  She  feels  terrible  pain,  and,  when  she  wakes  up, 
has  to  find  out  it  is  not  real  by  literally  feeling  herself.  She 
always  wakes  up  in  a  profuse  perspiration  after  these  dreams. 
Occasionally,  when  speaking  she  feels  as  if  something  goes  wrong 
in  the  head  ;  it  swells,  becoming  bigger  and  bigger,  and  every¬ 
thing  seems  to  get  farther  and  farther  away.  Although  she  goes 
on  working,  her  hand  seems  miles  away.  She  has  acute  occipital 
and  temporal  pain  while  it  lasts.  This  is  anything  from  five  to 
ten  minutes.  Then  a  ‘pop’  comes  and  all  is  right  once  again. 
She  has  slight  exophthalmic  goitre;  and  slight  choreic  movements 
which  subsided  as  soon  as  she  got  at  ease  with  me.  She  was 
continually  blushing  throughout  all  interviews. 

In  the  mother’s  letters  to  me  in  answer  to  inquiries  of  mine, 
after  telling  me  that  the  horse’s  kick  had  nothing  to  do  with  her 
bad  eyesight ;  that  this  trouble  was  the  result  of  measles ;  and 
that  she  knows  nothing  about  her  going  blind  ;  that  she  knows 
Daisy  tells  people  that  a  doctor  told  her  she  would  ultimately  go 
blind  ;  and  that  her  eyesight  has  troubled  her  much  less  for  some 
years  now  than  it  originally  did  ;  she  writes  the  following : 

4  About  her  fiance  .  .  .  they  were  engaged  for  six  years  and  they 
parted  last  November  entirely  through  Daisy’s  fault.  He  has 
stuck  to  her  time  after  time,  but  with  clear  understanding  that 
the  next  time  would  be  the  last,  so  that  when  she  went  for  a 
few  days  to  stay  with  some  friends  of  his  and  a  pen  was  missing 
and  proved  she  had  taken  it,  he  wrote  to  me  and  said  he  felt  he 
couldn’t  go  on  .  .  .  it  was  as  big  a  blow  to  him  as  ever  was  to 
her’  (compare  her  story)  ‘I  too  lost  hope  then,  I  had  always 
thought  she  would  go  straight  for  his  sake.  He  was  a  man  any 
girl  might  be  proud  to  own,  but  I  may  say  her  whole  life  has 
been  a  tragedy ;  she  has  lost  so  much  and  gained  nothing  what¬ 
ever.  After  her  father’s  death  we  went  to  live  with  my  parents, 
we  had  a  good  home  and  her  grandparents  were  goodness  itself 
to  Daisy,  but  she  took  a  delight  in  being  contrary  to  them  and 
writing  the  most  extraordinary  letters  to  her  fiancb  as  to  the 
hard  life  she  led  at  home,  which  was  of  course  a  pack  of  lies. 
I  don’t  mean  she  was  always  like  this,  because  sometimes  she 
was  everything  that  was  loving  and  kind,  and  we  got  to  know,  that 
when  these  bad  tempers  were  shown,  that  she  was  not  going 
straight — she  is  a  strange  mixture  of  good  and  bad.  I  shall  be 
only  too  glad  to  answer  any  questions  you  may  care  to  ask.’ 

In  another  letter  the  mother  writes,  ‘  She  has  never  seemed 
quite  normal.  One  of  her  peculiar  habits  was  she  would  never 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


57 


go  anywhere  with  me  (she  is  speaking  of  her  as  a  tiny  child),  in 
fact  she  would  go  in  quite  a  opposite  direction  if  she  got  the 
chance,  but  she  grew  out  of  that  as  she  grew  older.  About  10 
yrs.  of  age  her  father  and  I  got  very  worried  about  her.  She 
suddenly  got  greedy  over  anything  which  took  her  eye  just 
trifling  things,  once  I  missed  some  apples  and  when  I  found  them 
in  her  pocket  and  pointed  them  out  to  her  (another  time  she  cut 
the  flowers  off  her  aunt’s  hat)  but  always  declared  she  knew 
nothing  about  it.  Then  other  people  began  to  miss  little  things 
so  that  we  never  let  her  go  anywhere — she  would  tell  the  most 
terrible  lies  and  stick  it  out,  but  in  the  end  would  give  the  things 
up  and  cry  and  say  she  never  meant  to  steal  them  but  in  the  end 
did  so.  Apart  from  this  one  fault  she  has  lived  a  clean  life — 
clean  industrious.  She  has  a  perfect  mania  for  storing  up  all 
sorts  of  things  not  exactly  finery  but  clothes  more  especially. 
Her  temper  at  times  is  almost  a  frenzy  and  at  others  she  is  a  dear 
loving  girl,  kind-hearted  and  loving  to  me.  There  is  some  brain 
trouble  on  her  father’s  side,  his  mother  was  in  an  asylum  for 
some  months  ;  his  sister  w7as  there  for  8  yrs. ;  an  aunt  died  there 
and  his  niece  is  there  now  and  has  been  for  2  yrs.’ 

With  such  a  heredity,  with  so  many  physical  disabilities,  the 
girl  may  seem  to  be  a  poor  specimen  to  treat  with  any  hope  of 
cure  ;  nevertheless,  since  the  girl  has  good  insight  into  her  con¬ 
dition  and  pleads  so  urgently  that  something  should  be  done, 
I  am  of  opinion  that  much  could  be  done,  and  that  she  might 
indeed  be  cured  were  the  treatment  made  available  for  her.  Her 
denials  of  her  misdoings  are  defence  mechanisms  against  the 
overwhelming  sense  of  guilt  she  has  with  regard  to  them.  Her 
story  about  her  fiance  is  also  partly  defence  against  the  un¬ 
pleasant  truth,  but  also  she  is  working  out  in  fantasy  her  uncon¬ 
scious  wishes. 


Case  4. 

Age:  21.  Education:  Elementary  and  Secondary  Schools. 
Number  of  children  in  family:  two.  Position  of  girl  in  family: 
eldest. 

This  girl,  whom  I  shall  call  Rose,  is  somewhat  similar  to  the 
one  given  in  Case  1.  I  do  not  propose  to  give  her  history  as 
fully,  nor  could  I,  for  I  was  unable  to  follow  her  subsequent 
career  outside.  The  similarity  lies  in  the  ardent  desire  to  pass 
herself  off  as  socially  superior  to  her  own  status  in  life,  and  her 
repulsion  and  pretence  of  ignorance  of  all  sexual  matters.  Her 
dissimilarity  to  Nora  is  mainly  in  the  matter  of  lying.  Whereas 
Nora  always  knew  she  was  lying,  Rose  seemed  incapable,  in 
certain  directions,  of  understanding  that  what  she  was  saying 
was  not  true,  even  when  the  real  real  facts  were  being 
pointed  out  to  her.  She  was,  in  fact,  suffering  from  delusions. 
Moreover,  while  Nora  was  rather  obviously  not  the  ‘lady’  she 
posed  to  be,  this  girl  might  quite  well  have  posed  as  such,  for 
she  was  very  attractive  and  refined,  both  in  manner  and  speech. 
Nevertheless,  beyond  the  frank  avowal  that  she  loved  beautiful 


58 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

clothes  and  found  it  irresistible  pleasure  to  go  into  a  shop  and 
pretend  she  was  Lady  So-and-So,  she  kept  up  no  systematic 
deception  as  to  her  position  with  the  rest  of  the  world.  She 
liked  a  gay  life  and  she  got  into  a  bad  set ;  she  was  ashamed  at 
what  it  led  her  into,  and  could  not  think  why  she  went  on  doing 
it.  Thus  it  was  not  this  side  of  her  life  where  she  was  incapable 
of  telling  the  truth  when  faced  with  it.  In  this  respect  she 
acted  as  Nora,  and  rather  more  quickly  in  admitting  any  fabri¬ 
cation.  She  gave  as  her  history  the  following  facts : — 

She  is  a  typist ;  her  father  is  a  commission  agent  (turf),  who 
has  done  very  well  for  himself.  He  is  a  Spaniard,  but  uses  his 
wife’s  name  and  is  known  as  an  Englishman  for  business 
purposes.  The  father  is  strict,  too  strict  according  to  the  patient. 
She  is  not  allowed  out  at  night  without  him  or  her  eldest 
brother  (there  is  no  brother).  The  mother  is  more  indulgent, 
and  when  the  father  was  called  up,  the  girl  persuaded  the 
mother  to  let  her  leave  home  (her  mother  had  to  put  the  girl  away 
in  a  Home  during  this  period  as  she  was  so  unmanageable).  She 
went  to  live  in  a  club  (the  Home  where  she  was  placed)  where 
she  enjoyed  the  freedom  of  meeting  many  friends.  She  was 
friendly  with  a  woman  older  than  herself,  who  continually 
borrowed  money  from  her.  Then  one  day  she  told  the  girl  she 
could  not  pay  her  back.  This  worried  her  because  she  knew  her 
father  would  be  angry  if  he  knew.  The  woman,  however,  said 
she  would  make  it  up  to  her  by  showing  her  how  to  get  goods 
from  shops  without  paying  for  them.  She  went  into  shops  and 
used  other  people’s  names,  knowing  that  they  had  accounts 
there.  She  was  twelfth  in  a  family  of  thirteen.  She  claims 
complete  ignorance  of  sexual  matters;  and,  although  she  gives 
stories  of  numerous  young  men  kissing  her  and  on  two  occasions 
attempting  to  rape  her,  she  assures  me  that  she  does  not  care  for 
boys;  they  always  want  'one  thing  of  her  ’.  In  the  same  breath  she 
will  tell  me  she  likes  being  kissed  by  them.  She  never  caresses 
any  one.  It  makes  her  feel  jealous  of  her  sister  when  she  sees 
her  kissing  her  mother ;  she  feels  disgusted  yet  at  the  same  time 
would  like  to  be  able  to  do  it  herself.  She  can  make  more  fuss 
of  her  father  in  that  way,  but  it  never  amounts  to  more  than  an 
occasional  kiss. 

It  is  easy  to  see  enough  discrepancy  here  to  make  one  suspect 
the  truth  of  her  statements.  An  analysis  was  of  course  impossible, 
without  which  the  disentanglement  of  fact  from  fantasy  was 
impracticable.  But  this  was  one  of  the  cases  in  which  I  was 
able  to  get  reliable  information  from  outside  sources,  and  I  then 
discovered  that  the  father  was  a  Scot,  a  plumber  by  trade,  and 
that  there  were  only  two  children  in  family.  When  I  faced  the 
girl  with  this,  she  seemed  genuinely  mystified,  so  much  so,  that 
I  got  into  communication  with  the  father  himself,  only  to  get 
from  his  own  pen  a  corroboration  of  these  facts.  The  girl  still 
persisted  that  there  were  thirteen  in  family,  and  when  I  showed 
her  the  letter,  asking  her  if  that  was  her  father’s  handwriting, 
thus  giving  her  a  barely  covered  hint  how  to  make  good  her  lie, 
she  immediately  said,  ‘  Oh  yes,  that  is  my  father’s  handwriting, 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GEOUP 


59 


but  how  can  he  say  that  ?  ’  Now  the  mere  difficulty  of  confessing 
to  a  lie  was  not  the  stumbling-block  here,  for  she  had  confessed 
to  other  lies  to  me  in  the  ordinary  normal  way,  showing  the 
usual  shame  and  embarrassment.  Moreover,  the  apparent  aimless¬ 
ness  of  claiming  a  family  of  thirteen  is  noteworthy  ;  and  her 
complete  air  of  mystification  was  too  real  to  have  been  consciously 
assumed.  Although  I  was  able  to  point  out  her  discrepancies  in 
her  sexual  history  as  she  gave  it  to  me,  and  could  raise  in  her  a 
slight  dawning  doubt  in  her  own  story  concerning  this  side  of 
her  life,  I  could  in  no  way  whatever  persuade  her  that  she, 
possibly,  was  making  a  mistake  in  this  matter.  She  was 
absolutely  certain  that  her  father  was  a  Spaniard  and  that  she 
was  the  twelfth  of  thirteen  children. 

There  were  other  points  about  her  that  the  father  told  me  that 
made  it  easy  to  see  that  we  were  dealing  with  a  girl  who  had 
shown  peculiarities  of  behaviour  from  an  early  age.  She  had 
always  been  untruthful,  cunning,  and  unmanageable.  At  the 
age  of  seven  she  had  the  habit  of  taking  one  bite  out  of  all  the 
apples  on  a  dish  and  then  putting  them  back  upside  down.  One 
immediately  asks  why  she  did  not  steal  one  apple  and  be  done 
with  it.  She  would  have  escaped  detection  this  way,  whereas 
by  this  other  method  detection  was  inevitable ;  and,  since  the 
destruction  was  greater,  the  annoyance  shown  by  the  parents 
would  have  been  correspondingly  greater.  It  seems  justifiable 
therefore  to  regard  this  as  a  symptomatic  act.  There  was  no 
question  of  subnormal  intelligence ;  she  was,  on  the  contrary, 
intelligent  beyond  the  average  of  her  class ;  she  had  passed  on 
from  the  elementary  school  to  a  secondary  school,  and  had  been 
there  to  the  age  of  seventeen.  She  is  a  difficult  case  to  classify, 
at  any  rate  any  more  closely  than  to  call  her  a  borderline  case. 
She  is,  in  all  probability,  an  incipient  dementia  praecox  case. 
The  unmanageableness  at  home,  the  irregular  behaviour  and 
the  fixed  delusions  would  justify  the  making  of  such  a  tentative 
diagnosis. 

Case  5. 

Age :  21.  Education:  Elementary.  Standard  VII.  Number 
of  children  in  family :  foui\  Position  of  girl  in  family  :  youngest. 

Vera,1  aged  twenty-one,  was  sent  to  me  as  being  a  very 
difficult  girl  in  the  Preventive  Home.  She  was  suffering  from  a 
'  bark  ’  which  became  more  and  more  irritating  to  the  other 
inmates  and  staff  among  whom  she  was  living.  Her  history 
showed  that  up  to  the  age  of  thirteen  she  was  a  thoroughly 
healthy,  merry,  intelligent  child.  At  that  time,  while  she  was 
racing  along  a  road,  a  dog  flew  at  her,  bit  her  hand  and  was  still 
chasing  her  when,  to  avoid  both  it  and  a  van,  she  fell  on  a  curb, 
struck  her  head  and  was  unconscious  for  three  days.  Ever  since, 
she  says  she  has  been  jerky,  irritable,  and  cries  very  easily.  She 
reached  Standard  VII  in  her  school  and  was  to  have  worked  for 
a  scholarship,  but  was  ‘too  jerky’.  She  was  sent  away  to  a  friend, 

1  The  names  used  in  these  case  histories  are  of  course  fictitious. 


60 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

but  could  not  stay  away  from  her  mother,  neither  could  she 
stand  the  loneliness  of  the  country.  She  tried  various  kinds  of 
work,  but  was  not  able  to  remain  in  any  of  them  because  of  her 
‘jerks’  and  ‘barks’.  Finally,  she  stayed  at  home  helping  her 
mother  and  did  dressmaking.  This  is  briefly  the  girl’s  story. 

The  onset  of  the  ‘  bark  ’  is  somewhat  uncertain.  She  gives  it 
as  having  commenced  after  influenza  three  years  ago,  but  speaks 
of  it  nevertheless  quite  frequently  as  occurring  in  very  early 
days.  Her  menstruation  occurred  for  the  first  time  at  sixteen 
years.  She  gets  considerable  dysmenorrhea,  and  it  is  irregular 
in  duration,  lasting  from  three  to  eleven  days.  She  always  gets 
very  depressed  a  couple  days  beforehand  and  several  days  during 
the  period. 

Her  state  when  I  saw  her  was  that  of  hypomania  alternating 
with  mood  s  of  acute  depression  .Her  flow  of  language  was  incessant. 
She  was  unable  to  give  a  direct  answer  to  any  question  that 
needed  more  than  a  yes  or  no.  This  seemed  to  be  due  rather  to 
a  disorder  in  the  process  of  thinking  than  to  the  content  of 
thought,  every  chance  association  carrying  her  off  into  a  change 
of  subject.  There  was  a  considerable  degree  of  distractability 
also  present.  Throughout  these  interviews  and  during  one  and 
the  same  interview,  there  seemed  always  a  tremendous  urge 
to  express  a  volume  of  emotionally  toned  material,  which  showed 
alternately  exaggerated  self-esteem  and  self-depreciation.  The 
depreciatory  periods  constantly  ended  up  with  ‘  Don’t  you 
think  so,  am  I  not  really  a  very  wicked  girl  ?  ’  She  is  entirely 
unable  at  the  present  time  to  give  her  attention  to  anjflhing 
I  may  say  other  than  what  may  be  said  to  relieve  her  load  of 
guilt. 

She  has  taken  a  violent  dislike  to  one  of  the  staff  and  com¬ 
plains  bitterly  that  she  is  unkind  ;  always  watching  to  jump  on 
a  person ;  always  wanting  to  know  things  about  her,  and  so  on. 
Her  hatred  of  this  individual  is  intense.  She  could  ‘  murder 
her  ’.  She  is  a  very  sociable  person  as  a  rule,  quick  tempered, 
but  usually  does  not  bear  malice.  She  cannot  think  why  she 
hates  this  person  so  much.  The  intensity  of  her  hatred  strikes 
her  as  rather  strange.  In  her  flow  of  depreciatory  conversation 
about  herself,  she  constantly  refers  to  her  mother  and  father, 
as  the  case  may  be,  and  accepts  uncomplainingly  as  final  what¬ 
ever  she  states  to  be  their  opinion.  Her  mother  tells  her  that 
her  brothers  would  murder  her  if  they  knew  what  had  happened 
to  her  (she  is  pregnant),  and  she  takes  this  at  face  value  and 
thinks  it  is  only  natural  that  they  should  feel  so  towards  her.  The 
father  has  forgiven  her  ‘  this  once  ’,  but  would  not  do  so  again. 
They  are  moving  so  as  not  to  be  in  the  same  place  when  she 
comes  back.  (Many  of  these  girls  develop  a  fantasy  that  the 
parents  are  moving  solely  for  the  reason  to  reinstate  them  in 
society.  Sometimes  there  may  be  an  element  of  truth  in  this, 
but  for  the  most  part  the  reinstatement  is  unnecessary  for  obvious 
reasons,  and  when  the  change  of  abode  does  take  place,  the 
reason  for  it  is  not  that  which  is  claimed  by  the  delinquent.) 

Her  ‘  bark  ’  is  in  the  nature  of  a  hiccough.  She  associates  the 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


61 


‘  bark  ’  as  commencing  at  the  time  of  the  dog  bite.  She  connects 
the  ‘  bark  ’  with  anger  or  nervousness.  She  likes  to  be  obscene 
and  tells  obscene  stories.  She  is  easily  provoked  and  uses  every 
kind  of  obscene  language  in  this  state.  If  she  tries  to  check  it, 
her  ‘  bark  ’  becomes  very  insistent.  The  superintendent  finds  her 
a  difficult  girl  in  the  Home  on  account  of  this  ‘  bark  ’  and 
obscenity.  The  jerk  which  accompanies  it  is  a  shrug  of  the 
shoulders  with  the  head  turned  sharply  to  the  right. 

She  was  in  the  Home  for  pregnancy  which  was  the  result  of 
a  chance  meeting  with  a  chauffeur.  The  reason  she  gives  for 
accepting  his  overtures  for  a  ride  was  that  she  was  lonely  and 
restless.  Loneliness  and  restlessness  repeatedly  lead  these  girls 
into  risky  situations.  It  has  to  be  remembered  that  girls  of  this 
class  so  often  lack  the  mental  agility  to  cope  with  an  awkward 
situation  when  it  arises.  In  this  case  the  girl  was  raped. 
Reviewing  this  material,  there  are  three  outstanding  points  : 

1.  Paranoiac  symptoms  as  shown  in  feeling:  (a)  that  others 
are  watching  her  ;  ( b )  that  she  could  murder  this  person  whom 
she  dislikes  ;  (c)  that  she  accepts  her  mother’s  statement  that 
her  brothers  would  murder  her.  The  fears  are  projections  of 
her  own  unconscious  hostility  into  the  outer  world.  Her 
response  to  these  supposed  attacks  are  as  in  ( b )  above.  She 
could  murder  the  persecutor.  If  she  is  persecuted,  then  her 
hostility  becomes  justifiable  in  self-defence. 

2.  She  identifies  herself  with  the  barking,  biting  dog,  and 
‘  barks  ’.  Barking  and  biting  is  an  indication  of  hostility  and 
a  wish  to  hurt  or  kill.  If  barking  is  closely  related  to  obscenity, 
i.e.  replaces  it,  then  the  obscenity  is  in  essence  hostile.  This 
would  seem  to  be  the  case,  for  when  she  attempts  to  check  her 
obscenity  the  ‘  bark  ’  increases. 

3.  Excessive  guilt  is  shown  by  her  exaggerated  self-esteem 
and  self-depreciation.  The  flight  of  ideas  and  lack  of  con¬ 
centration  were  due  to  the  feeling  of  guilt.  Like  a  moth  to  a 
candle  she  would  come  back  again  and  again  for  a  brief 
moment:  ‘Do  you  think  I  am  a  very  wicked  girl?’  only  to 
jump  away  from  the  painful  idea  to  this  running  and  excited 
chattering.  She  never  waited  for  an  answer,  but  sometimes  it 
was  possible  to  force  her  attention,  and  momentarity,  by  re¬ 
assurances,  to  allay  her  guilt.  It  was  in  these  brief  moments 
that  the  material  which  has  been  presented  here  was  obtained. 


Case  6. 

Age  :  20.  Education :  Elementary.  Standard  VII.  Number 
of  children  in  family :  fourteen.  Position  of  girl  in  family : 
youngest. 

This  girl,  Milly,  aged  twenty,  was  on  remand  for  ‘  stealing 
and  found  wandering  in  male  attire  ’.  During  the  first  inter¬ 
view  with  her,  she  was  depressed,  miserable,  immobile,  and 
hopeless.  At  the  beginning  there  was  a  certain  amount  of 
negativism  which  later  disappeared.  She  is  the  youngest  of 


62 


PSYCHOLOGY  OP  DELINQUENCY 

fourteen,  and  came  from  a  very  respectable  home  where  the 
■whole  family,  mother,  father,  brothers,  and  sisters  were  devoted  to 
each  other.  Asa  child  she  had  been  inseparable  from  her  mother. 
Up  to  the  age  of  fourteen  she  was  merry  and  bright,  and  con¬ 
sidered  intelligent  at  school  where  she  reached  Standard  VII. 
She  was  a  girl  guide  and  had  several  badges.  She  went  to  service 
at  fourteen,  and  was  so  homesick  that  the  mistress,  out  of  pity, 
used  to  let  her  go  home  a  great  deal.  She  seems  to  have  given 
satisfaction  in  her  work  throughout  her  career  (this  is  borne  out 
by  the  police  record).  When  about  fifteen  and  a  half  years  old, 
while  she  was  with  her  mother,  her  father,  one  evening,  went 
out  with  his  gun  to  shoot  a  rat  or  weasel.  He  returned  almost 
at  once  with  his  arm  ‘  blown  to  pieces  ’  and  covered  in  blood. 
This  was  a  ghastly  shock  to  both  herself  and  her  mother. 
(Shock  No.  1).  When  sixteen,  she  was  called  home  from  service 
suddenly  because  her  mother  was  ill.  When  she  arrived  her 
mother  was  unconscious,  and  her  stertorous  breathing  was  heard 
all  over  the  house.  She  died  (Shock  No.  2).  Before  the  girl 
could  readjust  herself  to  this  new  condition,  to  her  a  particularly 
tragic  blow,  for  she  had  never  really  adjusted  herself  to  separa¬ 
tion  from  her  mother,  she  was  taken  away  to  hospital  with 
diphtheria.  Prom  the  time  of  her  mother’s  death,  she  commenced 
having  violent  headaches  and  menorrhagia.  She  hallucinated 
her  mother  frequently.  She  did  not  dare  to  tell  any  one.  The 
content  of  the  hallucinations  was  simple ;  her  mother  came  and 
stood  by  her,  looking  tenderly  at  her;  but  it  gave  her  no 
comfort.  This  only  made  things  worse,  for  the  pain  ‘  when  her 
mother  disappeared  each  time  was  terrible  ’.  All  the  time  she 
was  ill  with  diphtheria  she  thought  the  nurse  was  her  mother. 
Sometimes  her  brother  (killed  in  the  war)  used  to  come  with  her 
mother. 

After  she  recovered  from  diphtheria,  she  took  another  place  on 
a  farm.  One  day,  when  she  was  left  alone  in  the  place  with 
a  child,  the  little  girl  tripped  over  her  shoe-lace  going  down¬ 
stairs,  and  died  in  Milly’s  arms  a  few  minutes  later,  before  the 
doctor  could  be  called  (Shock  No.  3).  Milly  had  the  presence  of 
mind  to  send  for  the  doctor  and  to  call  a  neighbour  before 
nursing  the  child.  She  went  home,  but  was  troubled  more  and 
more  with  the  grief  for  her  mother  and  grief  over  this  terrible 
accident.  The  hallucinations  increased.  She  hated  the  male 
lodger,  whom  her  father  had  taken  in,  and  put  in  her  mother’s 
room  after  her  death.  She  felt  it  was  unspeakable  that  her 
mother’s  room  should  be  used  by  any  one  outside  the  family. 
She  could  speak  about  none  of  her  troubles  to  any  one,  but  felt 
that  she  would  go  mad  if  she  stayed  at  home ;  so  she  took  money 
from  her  father’s  pocket  and  ran  away  to  people  whom  she  knew 
in  Wales.  These  friends  of  hers  did  not  want  her  to  work, 
since  they  felt  she  was  too  ill  at  the  time ;  but  she  insisted  on 
finding  work  immediately,  as  she  knew  she  had  done  wrong  in 
taking  her  father’s  money  and  wanted  to  pay  it  back.  The 
father  applied  to  the  police  to  find  the  girl  for  him.  The  girl 
was  arrested  and  charged  with  stealing  (not  by  her  father’s  wish) 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  CROUP  63 

and  bound  over  on  condition  that  she  went  into  a  Home  for  two 
years. 

While  in  the  Home  she  had  scarlet  fever  and  was  ill  for 
a  week,  and  punished  daily  for  not  doing  her  work  which  she 
felt  too  ill  to  do.  When  she  came  out  of  hospital  after  scarlet 
fever,  she  took  a  place  as  cook.  She  was  very  weak,  and  suffered 
frequently  from  epistaxis.  She  began  to  have  sick  headaches ; 
and  finally,  her  mistress  said  she  was  too  ill  to  do  work  and 
that  she  must  see  a  doctor.  The  doctor  sent  her  off  duty 
immediately,  and  the  mistress  took  her  home  in  her  car.  At 
the  same  time  the  girl  was  having  metrorrhagia,  and  was  hardly 
a  day  free  from  it.  She  had  been  home  for  a  fortnight,  and  had 
been  out  for  a  short  walk  during  the  afternoon  of  her  disappear¬ 
ance.  From  this  walk  she  returned  early  as  she  felt  very  ill. 
That  night  she  had  one  of  her  migraine  attacks,  and  that  was 
the  last  thing  she  remembers. 

She  was  found  several  days  later  in  an  obviously  ill  condition, 
having  wandered  and  slept  out.  She  was  in  male  attire.  She 
had  no  recollection  of  anything  when  she  woke  up  in  hospital. 
Her  throat  was  very  dry  and  her  tongue  swollen.  When  she 
was  brought  up  in  court  she  was  still  too  confused  to  be  aware 
of  the  court  proceedings.  But  as  far  as  she  can  understand 
from  the  explanation  given  her  by  the  attendant  with  her,  she 
was  charged  with  taking  the  lodger’s  clothes  and  stealing  money. 
There  seems  no  evidence  that  she  stole  money;  for  none  was 
found  on  her,  and  no  trace  of  having  spent  any  was  discovered. 
The  box  from  which  the  man  claims  the  money  to  have  been 
stolen  had  neither  been  opened  nor  forced.  He  had  the  key  with 
him,  and  none  of  the  keys  belonging  to  the  girl  opened  the  box. 
Another  mental  shock  which  happened  to  Milly  after  the  little 
girl’s  death  was  that  of  the  death  of  her  sister’s  baby.  Milly 
says  that  she  knew  that  the  child  had  died,  although  they 
did  not  tell  her ;  because,  in  her  hallucinations,  her  mother 
always,  after  the  date  of  the  baby’s  death,  brought  the  baby 
with  her.  A  letter  from  the  superintendent  of  police  corroborates 
most  of  this  history  as  the  girl  herself  gave  it. 

There  is  yet  one  other  point  not  mentioned  by  the  girl  to  me, 
and  that  is,  that  in  a  letter  from  Milly  to  her  sister  she  asks 
whether  the  sister’s  baby  has  yet  been  born.  This  baby  had 
been  born  some  time  before,  and  the  girl  had  frequently  nursed 
it.  The  relief  to  this  girl  in  telling  me  of  these  things  freely 
and  with  tremendous  emotion,  and  the  feeling  that  at  any  rate, 
for  a  period,  she  would  have  some  one  to  whom  she  could  ‘tell 
things  ’,  resulted  in  a  great  improvement  in  her  condition. 
Fortunately  in  this  case  the  medical  reports  weighed  with  the 
court,  so  that  the  result  was  that  the  girl  was  bound  over,  and 
I  was  asked  to  act  more  or  less  as  her  probation  officer. 

Now.  a  prolonged  course  of  treatment  at  this  period  might 
have  resulted  in  a  radical  cure,  but  opportunities  for  such  treat¬ 
ment  at  the  time  were  not  available.  I  have  kept  in  touch  with 
the  girl  ever  since.  I  secured  a  situation  for  her,  ideal  in  some 
respects  and  not  in  others.  She  had  a  slight  relapse  within 


64  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

a  short  period,  and  was  again  found  wandering  in  a  very 
confused  condition.  This  time  there  was  no  police  interference, 
and  I  was  communicated  with  by  the  matron  of  the  infirmary 
where  she  had  been  taken.  After  a  long  rest,  a  place  in  the 
neighbourhood  was  found  for  her  where  the  work  was  easy  and 
she  was  happy.  From  this  time  onwards  her  letters  to  me  have 
been  full  of  happiness  and  glowing  vigour.  She  is  now  happily 
married,  and  one  can  only  feel  that  so  long  as  things  go  well, 
the  girl  will  improve  in  health ;  but  an}^  unhappiness  in  her 
married  life,  or  any  accident  to  her  husband  or  such  children  as 
she  may  have,  will  be  followed  by  similar  reactions  as  heretofore. 
A  lengthy  period  of  happiness  at  this  time  might  result  in 
a  certain  amount  of  consolidation  of  the  personality,  so  that, 
possibljg  she  will  not  react  in  future  quite  so  easily  to  adverse 
circumstances.  The  condition  which  may  serve  to  keep  her 
from  these  states  of  hysterical  fugue  will  depend  largely  on 
whether  at  the  moment  of  distress  she  has  by  her  a  friend  to 
whom  she  is  able  to  talk  freely.  By  draining  off  the  excess  of 
emotion  she  may  be  experiencing  at  such  a  time,  she  may  be 
able  to  cope  sufficiently  well  with  the  underlying  distress  so  as 
not  to  be  confused,  and  thus  be  saved  from  behaviour  which 
gets  her  into  trouble.  Although  the  girl  is  intelligent  enough, 
her  ways  and  outlook  on  life  are  abnormally  childish.  This  is 
due  in  part  to  her  upbringing.  She  was  always  spoilt  as  the 
baby  of  the  family.  She  would  learn  that  childish  ways  were 
thought  a  good  deal  of  and  would  cling  to  them  as  a  necessary 
part  of  her  armamentarium  in  life.  It  will  be  interesting  to  see 
how  much  of  this  drops  away  from  her  when  she  becomes  the 
mother  of  a  child,  and  how  much  interest  in  herself  she  is  able 
to  pass  over  to  interest  in  her  child. 

It  is  now  nearly  two  years  since  I  was  brought  into  contact 
with  this  girl.  From  her  mistress  at  her  last  place  I  learn  that 
she  has  been  weaving  stories  of  having  been  entertained  by  me 
as  her  friend  ;  that  she  has  stayed  with  me,  and  that  I  have 
come  down  to  spend  time  with  her  in  the  country,  while  her 
mistress  was  away ;  that  her  prospective  husband  was  invited 
with  her  to  visit  me,  and  that  I  approved  highly  of  him.  None 
of  this  is  true.  I  have  kept  in  touch  with  the  girl  by  an  occa¬ 
sional  letter  over  this  period.  This  abnormal  conduct  must  be 
of  a  compensatory  nature.  It  adds  importance  to  her  and  thus 
masks  or  softens  her  inner  feeling  of  inferiority.  It  is  of  special 
interest  in  this  case  because  we  see  the  first  stage  in  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  what  may  quite  well  lead  to  an  end  similar  to  that  of 
Case  1.  To  keep  her  story  up  she  has  to  add  fiction  to  fiction, 
and  like  the  proverbial  snowball,  it  becomes  of  greater  and 
greater  dimension  as  it  rolls.  Though  lies  at  the  present 
moment  may  be  sufficient  to  keep  up  this  fiction,  if  she  begins 
to  get  ‘  presents  ’  from  me,  she  will  have  to  get  those  presents 
somehow,  probably  either  by  stealing  them  or  by  obtaining  them 
by  false  pretences.  She  has  a  baby  coming  in  a  month  or  two, 
and  it  is  possible  that,  at  any  rate  for  a  time,  the  possession  of 
a  husband  and  a  baby  may  assuage  her  inferior  feeling.  Her 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


65 


need  for  self-aggrandisement  by  means  of  fantasies  becoming 
less  insistent,  they  may,  perhaps,  disappear. 

Now,  in  the  development  of  every  child  there  are  two  periods 
of  emotional  stress.  In  early  infancy  a  slow  integration  of  the 
personality  takes  place.  Control  is  gained  over  bodily  move¬ 
ments  and  functions,  and  over  the  emotions.  This  is  followed 
by  a  period  of  latency.  At  puberty  the  second  period  of 
emotional  stress  takes  place.  New  adjustments  are  called  for, 
and  the  more  difficult  this  has  been  in  early  years,  the  more 
difficult  will  it  be  now  in  adolescence.  Old  conflicts  reappear  in 
a  new  form.  Any  external  trauma  added  to  the  difficulties  of 
this  period  will  be  serious. 

In  this  case  the  external  traumata  during  the  period  of  adoles¬ 
cence  were  very  striking.  At  fifteen  and  a  half  years  of  age,  the 
father’s  arm  was  shattered  ;  at  sixteen,  her  mother  died.  It  was 
at  the  same  time  that  her  menses  commenced.  The  mother’s 
death  was  followed  by  a  deep  neurotic  disturbance  culminating 
in  hallucinations  of  her  mother.  And  of  these  she  was  unable 
to  talk.  This  is  followed  quickly  by  the  accident  and  death  of 
the  little  girl  of  whom  she  was  in  charge.  It  was  inevitable 
that  Milly  should  unconsciously  blame  herself.  About  the  same 
time  her  sister’s  baby  died.  She  feels  her  father’s  use  of  her 
mother’s  room  in  letting  it  to  the  male  lodger  as  an  insult  to 
her  mother.  Her  feelings  of  desperation  and  of  going  mad 
drive  her  to  run  away  from  home.  These  shocks  all  followed, 
one  after  the  other  in  quick  succession.  There  was  no  time  for 
adjustment.  A  bereavement  such  as  this  child  suffered  in  the 
loss  of  her  mother  needed  time  before  her  grief  could  have 
expended  itself,  and  so  have  enabled  the  girl  to  take  up  her  life 
afresh.  It  would  be  considered  normal  for  grief  to  take  between 
one  and  two  years  to  be  assimilated.  But  all  her  troubles  came 
one  on  the  top  of  the  other  and  gave  her  no  chance  of  acquiring 
mental  stability.  Added  to  this,  she  had  no  one  to  whom  she 
could  express  her  pent-up  sorrow  about  her  mother,  nor  her 
burden  of  guilt  bound  up  with  the  death  of  the  child.  The 
taking  of  the  money  was  a  desperate  expedient  to  get  away 
from  an  intolerable  situation  and  to  save  her  own  sanity.  She 
was  in  no  sense  a  thief.  She  intended  paying  back  and  got 
a  situation  to  that  end. 

Had  Milly  been  treated  for  a  mental  breakdown  after  her 
mother’s  death,  the  so-called  stealing  episodes  would  not  have 
occurred.  But  these  events  and  the  breakdown  of  resistances 
against  physical  and  mental  illness  caused  the  underlying 
neurosis  to  emerge,  and  it  is  possible  through  her  actions  and 
hallucinations  to  get  a  picture  of  childhood  dreads  and  fears  and 
wishes  which  were  the  seeds  of  that  latent  neui'otic  trouble. 

Case  7. 

Age :  22.  Education  :  Elementary :  taught  by  father. 

Number  of  children  in  family :  four.  Position  of  child  in 
family :  youngest. 

Bella,  aged  twenty-two  years,  was  in  the  Home  for  pilfering. 

1463  E 


66 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

She  is  a  quiet,  gentle-mannered  girl  of  the  verbalist  type,  who 
talks  like  a  self-conscious  child  of  twelve.  Her  whole  flow  of 
conversation  centred  on  her  ‘Daddy’.  She  looked  upon  being 
placed  in  a  Home  as  a  punishment,  and  is  going  to  be  ‘  good  ’ 
now. 

She  was  the  youngest  of  several,  and  from  eight  to  ten  years 
younger  than  the  child  before  her.  Her  mother  died  at  her 
birth.  The  relation  who  took  the  mother’s  place  appears  to 
have  spoilt  her  entirely.  When  she  was  five  years  of  age  her 
father  married  again.  This  she  resented  intensely.  She  suffered 
a  double  loss,  a  loss  of  her  dearly  loved  foster-mother,  and  more 
important  still,  the  loss  of  her  father.  Her  step-mother  used 
to  get  between  her  and  her  ‘  Daddy  ’.  She  thinks  she  began 
pilfering  at  about  thirteen  years  of  age.  She  feels  vaguely  that 
when  she  first  started  pilfering  it  was  a  revenge  on  her  step¬ 
mother  and  her  father,  but  it  very  quickly  became  a  habit.  She 
had  been  thinking  very  hard ;  and  then  wrote  a  letter  trying  to 
explain  all  this  to  ‘  Daddy’,  but  it  was  not  allowed  to  be  posted 
and  was  torn  up,  and  this  angered  her  very  much.  She  got 
a  letter  from  ‘  Daddy  ’  that  he  was  very  ill  and  was  not  likely 
to  recover.  This  made  her  think  deeply,  and  she  thought  that 
this  was  a  punishment  for  her  naughtiness  to  ‘Daddy’.  A  day 
or  two  later  she  heard  her  father  was  better  and  going  home. 
She  felt  very  happy  and  was  going  to  be  very  ‘  good  ’  now. 

After  four  visits,  the  authorities  stopped  her  coming  on  the 
grounds,  that  as  the  girl  belonged  to  a  class  rather  above  the 
rest,  the  other  girls  would  be  jealous ;  that  it  took  too  much 
time  off  her  work ;  and  that  they  did  not  wish  me  to  deal  with 
cases  who  were  not  ‘  mentally  defective  or  borderline  cases  ’. 
Their  standards  of  what  constituted  a  defective  or  borderline 
case  were  ‘  administrative  ’  rather  than  scientific.  They  ran  : 
‘  These  cases  do  not  appear  to  be  capable  of  training  in  an 
ordinary  Home  and  yet  I  do  not  think  in  the  majority  of  instances 
we  could  get  them  certified.’  What  this  attitude  virtually  meant 
was  that  cases  giving  most  trouble  in  the  Homes  were  thought 
of  as  mentally  defective  or  borderline  cases,  and  they  were  sent 
to  me  for  investigation.  Thus,  although  a  girl  might  be  found  to 
be  suffering  from  intense  mental  conflict,  provided  that  she  fitted 
in  more  or  less  with  the  Home,  she  was  not  accounted  as  needing 
assistance  other  than  that  which  they  were  able  to  give  her. 

Case  8. 

Age:  16.  Education:  In  series  of  private  schools;  very 
interrupted  and  scanty.  Number  of  children  in  family:  one. 
(?  illegitimate). 

Clara,  aged  sixteen  years,  originally  brought  up  by  numerous 
guardians,  has  now  only  one,  who  is  an  elderly  gentleman.  Her 
relatives  were  all  abroad,  and  she  seems  to  have  been  placed  in 
various  private  families  at  home  for  education.  These  homes 
were  both  good  and  bad,  from  the  point  of  view  of  suitable 
surroundings ;  her  education  had  been  scanty.  Her  first 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


67 


experience,  before  the  age  of  eight,  was  with  a  woman  who  was 
a  divorcee  posing  as  a  widow,  and  whom  the  girl  describes  as 
vile  tempered  and  queer,  but  for  whom  she  had  a  certain  amount 
of  affection.  The  girl  has  since  been  told  that  this  woman  kept 
her  backward  and  apparently  did  some  queer  things  in  her 
endeavour  to  keep  her  permanently.  She  told  the  girl  that  a 
man  would  come  and  try  to  take  her  away,  but  she  was  not  to 
go  with  him.  Her  guardian  finally  came  and  took  her  away  to 
school.  She  missed  her  ‘  mammy  ’  at  first,  but  soon  got  over  it. 

She  was  now  sent  to  a  special  school  for  children  whose  parents 
were  abroad.  She  had  a  jolly  time,  and  learnt  nothing,  but 
merely  played  games.  At  eleven  years  of  age,  being  too  old  for 
the  school,  she  was  put  in  charge  of  a  young  army  couple.  She 
never  liked  lessons  and  generally  managed  to  get  off  ‘  prep  ’. 
She  always  enjoyed  outdoor  life  and  much  preferred  boys  to  girls. 
Later  when  the  man  was  ordered  away,  she  was  removed  to  one 
of  her  guardian’s  relatives.  This  lady  was  extremely  kind,  but 
fussy  and  tried  to  make  a  society  lady  out  of  this  girl.  It  was  all 
clothes  and  tea-parties.  It  was  from  this  lady  that,  after  brooding 
for  a  week,  she  ran  away.  She  enjoyed  the  excitement  of  the 
first  night  out,  but  then  seems  to  have  drifted  into  a  state  of 
fugue.  She  remembers  little ;  she  was  brought  home  after 
eleven  days  and  then  taken  to  a  nursing  home  where  she  re¬ 
mained  for  three  weeks. 

The  girl  has  always  been  interested  in  new  things.  This 
interest  lasts  for  a  few  weeks  and  then  gradually  drifts  into 
indifference,  after  which  she  finds  it  difficult  to  concentrate. 
She  is  tomboyish,  loves  adventure,  and  is  rebellious.  She  was 
sent  to  a  Home  so  as  to  be  kept  safe,  after  the  episode  of  running 
away. 

This  is  all  I  learned  at  the  first  interview.  At  the  next  two 
or  three  interviews  it  became  evident  that  during  this  week  of 
brooding  she  had  the  1  horrid  idea  ’  that  her  father  had  killed 
her  mother.  She  was  excited  and  had  nightmare  dreams  every 
night.  One  constantly  repeated  dream  was,  that  she  was  riding 
a  horse,  and  every  time  came  to  a  chasm.  Her  mother  was  on 
the  other  side,  and  every  time  she  tried  to  jump  across  to  her 
she  failed.  This  led  on  to  her  telling  me  that  she  knew  nothing 
about  her  parents ;  that  she  often  wished  to  know,  but  did  not 
dare  to  ask,  or,  if  she  did,  was  always  told  to  wait  till  she  was 
grown  up.  There  is  clearly  some  mystery  about  her  parents. 
Her  father,  she  thinks,  in  some  way  must  have  been  4  no  good  ’ 
as  he  is  never  mentioned.  She  occasionally  hears  some  slight 
remark  about  her  mother  but  nothing  very  informing,  except 
that  her  mother  was  clever,  and  she  is  expected  by  her  guardian 
to  be  clever  like  her  mother. 

Her  menstruation  commenced  at  the  age  of  thirteen  and  was 
regular  up  to  the  time  she  ran  away,  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  She 
has  had  no  periods  since.  She  has  never  spoken  about  it  to  any 
one,  but  it  worries  her,  so  does  this  queer  idea  that  her  father 
killed  her  mother. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  obstacles  encountered  in  making 


68 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

psychological  investigations.  One  finds  that  ‘investigation’  is 
regarded  as  ‘  treatment  and  in  this  case  the  '  treatment  ’  was 
broken  off  after  the  fourth  period  on  the  same  grounds  as  in 
Case  7.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  investigator  these 
grounds  are  certainly  ‘  unscientific  and  sometimes  appear  trivial. 
It  must  be  remembered  of  course  that  psychological  medicine 
has  not  yet  the  same  authority  behind  it  as  organic  medicine, 
hence  that  ‘  administrative  ’  reasons  are  given  an  excessive  weight, 
indeed  one  that  would  not  be  tolerated  in  hospital  practice. 
This  girl  was  badly  in  need  of  assistance.  She  was  a  specially 
bright  and  reasonable  girl,  and  on  the  whole  was  not  taking  life 
too  seriously :  she  was  much  too  casual  for  the  Home  in  which 
she  was.  After  the  first  interview  she  came  hesitantly  but  eager 
with  questions,  and  my  way  of  meeting  these  gradually  made  it 
possible  for  her  to  talk  much  more  freely  than  at  first.  She  has 
always  been  afraid  to  ask  questions  in  case  she  should  annoy  the 
person  questioned.  Later  she  added  she  was  very  shy,  always 
liad  been  shy.  Her  guardian  had  the  habit  of  asking  her 
questions  and  she  could  never  give  the  answers.  This  made  her 
feel  a  fool.  She  would  often  have  to  get  up  and  leave  the  room. 
Before  these  visits  were  so  unwisely  cut  short,  the  girl  had 
expressed  a  feeling  she  had  ‘  that  I  would  be  able  to  help  her  ’. 
(Case  7  also  expressed  the  same  idea.) 

Case  9. 

Age:  23.  Education:  Elementary.  Standard  VII.  Number 
of  children  in  family :  seven.  Position  of  girl  in  family  : 
middle. 

Florence,  aged  twenty-three,  small,  undersized,  sharp  featured, 
rather  affected,  but  a  pathetic  little  person,  came  to  me  first 
when  she  had  already  decided  that  the  only  way  to  meet 
the  difficulties  of  life  was  to  shut  herself  off  from  all  human 
contact  exteriorly,  and  to  entirely  eliminate  all  conscious 
thinking  processes.  In  other  words,  she  suppressed  all  un¬ 
pleasant  thoughts.  She  felt  that  she  had  succeeded  in  doing 
this,  but  at  the  same  time,  she  was  still  going  to  pieces.  The 
girl  obviously  was  suffering  intensely,  and  this  barrier  which 
she  had  put  up  was  being  ineffective,  as  was  indicated  by  her 
sleepless  nights,  her  nightmares,  dreams,  her  excessive  irritability 
on  being  spoken  to. 

Her  story  as  told  by  herself  was  as  follows : 

She  had  always,  since  a  child  (age  of  ten),  been  terribly 
troubled  in  her  mind  about  her  mother.  Her  father  did  not 
understand  her  mother.  He  was  a  strict,  narrow-minded, 
religious  man,  and  apart  from  performing  the  minimum  of  social 
duties  towards  her  mother  and  children,  he  never  showed  any 
kind  of  affection  for  any  of  them.  The  girl  was  very  bitter ; 
and  felt  that  he  could  have  done  better  for  them  all  if  he  had 
wished.  They  had  no  childish  pleasures,  no  toys,  but  often 
knew  what  it  was  to  go  hungry,  and  would  be  badly  and  unsatis¬ 
factorily  dressed.  Throughout  her  childhood  it  distressed  -her 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


69 


that  she  could  not  do  anything  to  help  her  mother ;  she  was  not 
old  enough  to ;  she  could  not  earn  the  money  to  do  anything  to 
make  her  mother  happier.  Finally,  she  left  home  as  she  could 
not  adhere  to  the  strict  limitation  of  her  liberty  that  her  father 
imposed  upon  her.  From  this  time  onwards  she  drifted  into  the 
company  of  men  of  ai'tistic  taste  and  finally  succumbed  to  a  loose 
sexual  life  (she  has  not  told  me  this,  but  I  have,  from  other 
sources,  the  information  that  she  was  bound  over  by  the  police 
for  loitering  at  the  age  of  seventeen).  After  working  for  various 
periods  in  several  interesting  lines,  she  finally  became  a  chorus 
girl ;  and,  after  a  period  of  some  eighteen  months,  became  the 
mistress  of  one  of  her  patrons.  This  appears  to  have  been,  from 
the  side  of  the  gild,  a  very  genuine  love  affair.  She  repeatedly 
asked  when  he  was  going  to  marry  her,  and  when  finally  she 
pressed  for  an  answer  he  told  her  that  he  could  not  marry  her, 
because  he  already  had  a  wife  in  the  asylum.  She  could  not 
part  with  him,  and  they  lived  on  as  before  for  another  year. 
Then  he  decided  that  he  had  to  go  to  ‘Canada’,  and  could  not 
take  her  with  him,  but  promised  to  send  for  her.  She  was  by 
this  time  pregnant;  and  she  realised, although  she  did  not  admit 
it  to  herself,  that  he  really  had  no  intention  of  sending  for  her. 
She  was  broken-hearted,  with  no  money,  no  work,  and  a  baby 
coming.  She  got  some  needlework  to  do  and  lived  in  a  state  of 
semi-starvation  until  she  finally  was  taken  into  hospital  to  be 
confined.  She  had  a  ‘terrible  time’;  and  was  extremely  ill,  not 
caring  whether  she  lived  or  died.  The  baby  lived  several  weeks. 
Just  as  she  was  beginning  to  love  the  baby,  and  to  feel  that  that 
was  the  only  thing  left  in  life  to  live  for,  the  baby,  one  morning, 
was  found  dead  in  its  cot.  At  about  the  same  time,  still  being 
ill  and  in  a  good  deal  of  pain,  she  was  discovered  to  have  venereal 
disease.  This  increased  her  misery  a  thousand-fold.  ‘  She  cannot 
bear  to  be  alive,  she  will  never  be  clean  after  that  horrible 
experience.’  She  has  a  great  belief  that  her  father  who  died  a 
short  time  ago  deliberately  came  and  took  her  baby.  Sometimes 
it  is  God  who  took  her  baby  ;  but  whether  God  or  her  father, 
she  cannot  understand  why  they  gave  her  her  baby  only  to  take 
it  away  immediately.  Her  father  during  his  last  illness,  appears 
to  have  wished  the  girl  would  come  home,  but  she  seems  hazy 
as  to  whether  she  was  told  of  her  father’s  illness  or  not.  At  the 
same  time  she  blames  herself  very  severely  for  having  let  her 
father  die  without  becoming  reconciled  to  him.  She  feels  now 
that  they  all  misunderstood  him;  but  that  she  might  have  under¬ 
stood  him  more  than  she  did,  as  he  obviously  loved  her  best  of 
all,  and  she  knows  now  that  he  had  affection  for  them,  but  was 
unable  to  show  it.  She  feels  that  he  is  still  wanting  her  and 
that  she  ought  to  be  able  to  make  him  know  somehow  that  she 
loves  him. 

Her  dreams  are  terrifying  and  she  suffers  from  auditory  and 
visual  hallucinations  at  night  time.  She  hardly  gets  to  sleep 
before  she  wakes  up  with  a  start.  She  hears  the  tramp,  tramp, 
tramp  of  feet  coming  towards  her  room,  and  and  she  sees  vaguely 
several  men  in  the  room  carrying  with  them  a  shroud.  She 


70 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

knows  this  is  for  her  and  springs  out  of  bed,  hardly  able  to  keep 
back  her  screams  of  terror.  Often  she  tears  down  stairs  and  only 
stops  when  she  reaches  a  room  where  there  is  a  light.  She 
pretends  that  she  has  come  to  fetch  something,  or  is  not  feeling 
well,  and  wants  a  drink. 

This  briefly  was  the  girl’s  story  when  I  first  saw  her.  Her 
condition  was  serious.  She  was  a  physical  wreck,  was  eating 
next  to  nothing,  and  was  still  suffering  a  great  deal  from 
abdominal  pain.  During  the  next  few  months  she  had  to  have 
several  operations.  For  a  period  of  two  j^ears  since  I  first  saw 
her,  I  have  been  seeing  this  girl,  at  first,  for  a  long  period  several 
times  a  week  and  then  at  varying  intervals.  The  circumstances 
have  been  such,  that  I  think  it  remarkable  that  the  girl  has  been 
able  to  carry  on  at  all.  That  she  has  been  able  to  do  so,  I  put 
down  to  the  fact  that  in  her  extreme  moments  she  has  always 
had  me  to  fall  back  on.  The  girl  needs  prolonged  physical  and 
mental  treatment,  but  neither  is  available  for  her  in  such  a  way 
that  she  can  reap  much  benefit  from  them. 

Her  tremendous  guilt  sense  with  regard  to  her  mother,  which 
dates  from  early  childhood,  binds  her  to  her  mother  still.  She 
lives  with  her  mother,  although  her  presence  there  increases  her 
own  mental  trouble  acutely  and  at  the  same  time  gives  no 
pleasure  to  the  mother.  She  does  not  get  on  with  her  mother. 
She  quarrels  with  her  family  and  she  lives  in  a  state  of  depressed 
sullenness.  She  feels  she  will  go  mad  if  she  does  not  get  away. 
On  the  other  hand  she  feels  she  must  stay  by  her  mother  and 
help  her  all  she  can.  And  all  the  while  she  is  fighting  against 
her  depressions  and  hopelessness. 

What  can  be  done  in  a  case  like  this  ?  Hospital  for  the  treat¬ 
ment  of  her  physical  condition  means  losing  her  situation. 
Moreover,  hospitals  do  not  take  in  a  case  like  this ;  and  even  if 
they  did,  would  not  keep  her  until  she  was  physical^  fit  to  face 
the  strain  of  fighting  for  her  bread  and  butter  once  again.  The 
most  a  hospital  will  do  for  her  at  the  moment  is  to  treat  her  as 
an  out-patient  two  or  three  times  a  week.  This  means  losing 
her  job.  Meanwhile,  her  mental  condition  is  just  as  acute,  or 
perhaps  even  more  so  than  her  physical  condition.  What  is  to 
be  done  ?  If  a  Home  could  be  found  to  take  her  in,  the  difficulty 
would  be  to  persuade  her  to  go  into  such  a  home.  And,  indeed, 
an  institution  of  the  kind  available  would  only  increase  rather 
than  allay  the  mental  distress.  There  is.  unfortunately,  a  stigma 
attached  to  these  homes ;  only  ‘  naughty  ’  girls  go  there.  The 
girl  is  already  suffering  from  an  overwhelming  sense  of  guilt. 
The  stimulation  of  this  in  such  a  Home  would  add  to  it,  and 
more  than  likely  turn  the  scale  as  regards  her  mental  balance  in 
a  disastrous  direction.  A  deep  analysis  is  probably  the  only 
thing  which  would  set  this  girl  on  her  feet  again,  but  her 
present  condition  makes  this  impossible  for  her.  Her  physical 
health  must  be  put  right  first,  followed  by  a  long  period  of  light 
work,  during  which  the  mental  condition  could  be  looked  into 
and  treated. 


71 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  CROUP 
Case  10. 

Age:  26.  Education:  Elementary.  Standard  VI.  Number 
of  children  in  family :  two.  Position  of  girl  in  family :  Elder. 

This  girl  was  in  for  felony  and  larceny.  She  had  been  in 
several  times  previously  for  assault  and  thefts.  She  gave  her 
occupation  as  that  of  chorus  girl.  She  claimed  a  Maltese  mother 
and  father  of  mixed  extraction.  At  her  first  interview  she 
stuttered  badly,  and  while  speaking,  looked  everywhere  but  in 
the  direction  of  the  listener,  and  seemed  to  be  much  on  the 
defensive.  Later,  when  she  grew  more  accustomed  to  me,  she 
elaborated  her  troubles.  She  complained  that  she  continually 
gets  suddenly  angry  ;  and  that  she  was  nervy  and  had  always 
been  so ;  but  was  much  more  so  since  her  operations  (for  appen¬ 
dicitis  two  years  ago,  and  for  peritonitis  one  year  ago).  She 
broods  constantly  :  always  on  tragedy.  She  puts  all  this  down 
to  temperament  and  to  her  Maltese  blood.  She  seems  very 
distressed  about  being  put  on  the  observation  landing,  and  she 
feels  she  needs  to  take  her  mind  off  herself.  She  has  been  in 
hospital  for  a  fortnight  with  ‘chronic  obstructions  due.  to  ad¬ 
hesions.’  At  the  first  interview  she  denied  stealing,  and  at 
subsequent  ones,  forgetting  she  had  previously  denied  it,  she 
repeatedly  referred  to  what  she  had  done.  She  also  volunteered 
the  information  that  a  man,  old  enough  to  be  her  father,  had 
kept  her  for  two  years,  but  she  quickly  added  that  she  ‘  swore 
before  God  ’  that  nothing  had  taken  place  and  that  he  had  only 
acted  as  a  friend.  She  spent  a  lot  of  time  hinting  that  at  inter¬ 
vals  she  had  been  on  the  streets,  and  immediately  added  very 
emphatically  that  she  had  never  done  anything  immoral. 
Throughout  all  the  interviews,  she  was  continually  expressing 
apprehension  lest  she  should  be  looked  upon  as  ‘  balmy  ’.  She 
seemed  to  be  labouring  under  an  extremely  strong  sense  of 
inferiority.  As  I  did  not  wish  to  deepen  her  apprehension, 
I  did  not  apply  the  mental  tests.  Nevertheless,  I  was  of  the 
opinion  that  a  definite  subnormality  in  intelligence  was  present, 
but  also  there  were  many  evidences  of  psychoneurosis,  and  it 
would  be  difficult  to  say  how  much  of  this  mental  sluggishness 
and  stupidity  was  due  to  innate  defect,  and  how  much  was 
psychological.  At  intervals,  while  in  prison,  she  was  very  ex¬ 
cited,  and  bitterly  complained  at  being  on  the  observation 
landing.  She  said  that  the  constant  noise  from  other  tenants 
and  ‘being  looked  at’  drove  her  crazy  with  fright.  One  night 
when  there  was  a  ‘  full  blown  concert  of  shrieking  and  yelling’ 
from  the  other  inmates  on  that  landing,  she  swallowed  twelve 
buttons  and  a  needle,  hoping  in  this  way  to  end  her  life,  as  she 
could  not  bear  the  state  of  maddening  fear  any  longer  (this  was 
a  perfectly  true  story,  twelve  buttons  and  part  of  a  needle  were 
recovered  later  after  an  enema).  She  is  troubled  about  her 
bowels  and  feels  ill.  She  has  constant  pain  in  the  region  of  her 
wounds,  which,  from  description,  is  judged  to  be  due  to  ad¬ 
hesions.  She  feels  the  officers  are  against  her.  She  is  very 
much  frightened  at  the  night  officer  who  ‘  creeps  about  and 


72 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

looks  through  the  bars  at  her’  (this,  of  com’se,  is  true  and  part  of 
the  routine  of  the  night  officer).  She  knows  it  is  silly  of  her, 
but  she  gets  so  worked  up,  that  she  does  not  know  what  she 
will  do  next.  On  a  later  occasion  she  had  an  hysterical  smashing 
fit,  and  had' to  be  put  into  a  padded  room.  She  has  little  con¬ 
scious  moral  sense  as  regards  stealing,  but  that  it  is  there  is 
indicated  by  her  denial  of  stealing.  She  takes  what  she  wants. 
She  is  only  puzzled  as  to  why  she  has  got  a  longer  sentence  this 
time.  She  tells  me  that  she  has  just  concluded  a  contract  for 
a  job  as  chorus  girl  to  begin  in  August  and  to  last  for  eighteen 
months,  and  that  she  has  written  up  to  the  Home  Office  asking 
them  to  let  her  out  then.  She  appears  to  have  sublime  faith 
that  they  will  do  so  ‘  as  they  must  know  that  she  has  been  good 
for  so  long  ’. 

She  claims  to  have  reached  Standard  VI  in  school.  At  the 
age  of  six,  she  had  St.  Vitus  dance.  Her  mother  died  when  she 
was  six  months  old.  She  has  never  got  on  with  her  step-mother  ; 
and  finally,  the  father  told  her  that  either  she  or  the  step¬ 
mother  would  have  to  go,  so  she  left  home.  She  says  ‘  My 
father  pretends  to  like  my  step-mother — has  to  ’. 

Altogether  she  gives  the  impression  of  being  an  individual 
struggling  against  defects  both  congenital  and  acquired,  and 
that  the  ineffectiveness  of  this  struggling  has  resulted  in  a  state 
of  bewilderment  and  terror. 

I  think  we  have  here  a  case,  where,  in  the  first  place  the  soil 
is  of  poor  material.  The  intelligence  is  subnormal.  The  nervous 
instability  (vide  St.  Vitus  dance)  has  always  been  present,  and 
these  two  factors  together  with  the  psjmhoneurotic  and  psychotic 
manifestations  in  this  individual,  make  the  outlook  with  regard 
to  treatment  very  poor.  Conscious  inferiority  is  shown  in  her 
fear  of  being  called  ‘  balmy  ’ ;  and  unconscious  guilt  in  her 
alternate  confession  and  denial  of  being  on  the  streets  and  living 
with  a  man.  She  suffers  from  paranoid  fears;  she  is  being 
watched ;  something  is  going  to  happen ;  and  her  attempt  to 
commit  suicide  is  both  a  self-punishment  and  an  escape. 

Case  11. 

Age :  18.  Education :  Central  School ;  was  sent  in  for  a 
scholarship  and  just  missed  it.  Number  of  children  in  family  : 
twelve.  Position  of  girl  in  family :  third. 

This  girl  comes  from  a  home  where  the  parents  are  very  in¬ 
dulgent  but  respectable.  The  girl  was  seduced  by  her  employer. 
She  remains  very  attached  to  him,  and  tries  to  shield  him  from 
any  blame,  although  he  is  a  man  much  older  than  herself  and  is 
married  and  has  a  child  of  his  own  of  whom  he  is  very  fond. 

His  wife  attacked  and  beat  the  girl,  and  this  she  accepted 
quite  placidly.  The  man  still  pursues  the  girl  and  wishes  to 
make  her  a  home  in  addition  to  his  own  legitimate  one.  At  the 
same  time,  he  talks  coarsely  and  disparagingly  of  her  to  others. 
He  is  quite  certain  that  she  will  do  anything  that  he  wishes 
done.  The  girl  is  devoted  to  her  baby  and  refuses  to  have  it 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


73 


adopted.  She  has  a  secret  pride  in  having  a  child  by  him  ‘  so 
soon  ’  when  his  wife  had  to  wait  many  years. 

The  girl  is  considered  an  undesirable  influence  in  the  home 
and  to  have  ‘loose  morals’. 

There  would  seem  little  good  material  to  work  on  here,  and 
yet,  after  a  few  interviews  the  girl  showed  anxiety  to  overcome 
the  weakness  in  her  character.  She  said  she  felt  she  took  after 
her  father.  Her  father  never  could  deny  any  one  anything.  He 
frequently  suffered  considerably  through  his  willingness  to  give 
and  to  do  whatever  was  asked  of  him.  She  felt  her  own  weakness 
acutely.  She  thought  it  strange  that  she  should  have  no  in¬ 
clination  to  retaliate,  or  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  this  man’s  wife. 
She  felt  almost  as  if  something  ‘  drew  her  ’  to  this  woman,  as  if 
she  wanted  to  be  beaten  again.  She  feels  the  man,  though  he 
loves  her  in  a  way,  treats  her  with  no  respect.  She  cannot 
understand  why  she  should  be  drawn  to  go  back  to  him ;  and 
yet  she  knows  that  unless  she  can  understand  herself,  she  will 
not  be  able  to  refuse  to  go  back  to  him  if  he  asks  her.  She  is 
certain  only  of  one  thing,  and  that  is,  that  she  will  not  give  her 
baby  up.  If  it  came  to  it,  that  she  had  to  choose  between  the 
man  and  the  baby,  she  certainly  would  remain  with  the  baby. 

Now  this  girl  was  aware  of  her  own  weaknesses.  Her  excessive 
suggestibility  and  docility  leave  her  accessible  to  any  kind  of 
influence.  Her  strong  fixation  on  a  man  so  much  older  than 
herself  and  her  masochistic  attitude  in  relation  to  his  and  his 
wife’s  treatment  of  her,  her  pride  that  she  gets  a  baby  by  him 
so  much  more  easily  than  the  wife,  are  indications  of  the  psycho¬ 
logical  situation.  Her  insight  and  rather  feeble,  albeit,  definite 
desire  that  she  should  be  in  a  different  position  with  regard  to 
herself,  make  this  case  certainly  worth  a  trial  by  psycho-analytic 
treatment. 


Case  12. 

Age  :  20.  Education  :  Elementary.  Standard  VII.  Number 
of  children  in  family  :  seven.  Position  of  girl  in  family  :  third. 

The  girl  is  small,  short,  dark,  and  heavy  in  appearance.  She 
was  in  prison  for  larceny.  When  first  interviewed  she  was  in  a 
stuporose  state.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  she  was  able 
to  talk  at  all,  but  after  some  hard  work  I  managed  to  piece 
together  her  history  briefly  as  follows: 

She  is  very  distressed  and  ashamed  of  having  stolen,  and 
anxious  to  do  what  she  can  to  get  ‘  right  ’.  She  did  well  at 
school,  and  got  on  with  her  mother  at  home.  In  fact,  she  thinks 
she  is  her  mother’s  favourite.  Her  father  was  killed  during  the 
war.  This  distressed  her  very  much.  She  has  never  really  been 
fond  of  any  one  but  him.  She  does  not  get  on  with  the  other 
members  of  the  family.  She  feels  this  is  all  her  own  fault.  She 
always  wants  her  own  way  and  she  has  a  bad  temper.  It  flares 
up  very  suddenly,  and  then  immediately  afterwards  she  is  sorry. 

At  fourteen,  she  went  into  service  and  stayed  two  years,  and 
then  changed  to  another  place  for  two  years.  After  this  she 


74 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

spent  a  year  at  liome  helping  her  mother.  During  this  time 
she  ‘  walked  out  with  a  boy  Her  mother  did  not  like  him  and 
would  not  allow  him  into  the  house.  She  resented  this,  as  the 
mother  allowed  other  members  of  the  family  to  have  their  boys 
in.  After  a  year,  some  episode  took  place  between  her  and  the 
boy  which  made  her  refuse  to  see  him  again  at  any  time.  She 
was  very  reticent  as  to  the  cause  of  this  quarrel,  but  it  became 
obvious  that  some  sexual  assault  had  been  at  the  bottom  of  it. 
She  says  she  is  ‘  quite  done  ’  with  him  in  that  way.  She  thinks 
that  from  this  time  she  began  to  change.  She  has  not  been  able 
to  stay  at  any  one  place  more  than  a  month  since,  and  she  began 
to  get  dreamy  and  moody.  She  has  been  getting  steadily  worse 
during  the  last  three  months.  It  worries  her.  She  had  thought 
of  speaking  of  it  to  some  one,  but  feared  that  they  would  think 
her  ‘  funny  ’.  She  never  used  to  bite  her  nails,  but  now,  every 
now  and  again,  she  finds  her  nails  bitten,  and  has  no  recollection 
of  having  done  it.  She  only  knows  that  sometimes  they  are 
well  grown,  and  then  quite  suddenly  she  finds  them  short  and 
bitten. 

She  went  through  a  Salvation  Army  conversion  according  to 
programme  at  fourteen  and  a  half  years  old.  There  was  no 
religious  fervour  at  the  time.  She  joined  the  Salvation  Army 
much  as  one  would  join  a  club.  The  one  important  matter  to 
her  was  the  promise  not  to  drink  or  tell  lies  or  steal,  which  was 
extracted  in  pen  and  ink  before  she  was  allowed  to  wear  uniform. 
She  feels  the  disgrace  of  having  lost  the  uniform  more  than  any 
estrangement  from  God.  In  fact,  it  was  difficult  to  find  any 
religious  sentiment  present. 

The  details  of  the  larceny  are  these  : 

She  was  in  a  place  where  she  was  comfortable  and  had  no 
complaints  to  make.  She  got  restless,  and  for  a  fortnight  felt 
she  must  run  away.  She  packed  a  case  with  half  a  dozen 
unimportant  pieces  of  underclothing  belonging  to  her  mistress 
and  went  away  to  a  friend.  She  left  all  her  own  garments 
behind.  She  has  not  the  vaguest  idea  why  she  did  it,  but 
realizes  that  this  behaviour  is  not  her  usual,  and  wonders  what 
is  happening  to  her. 

Throughout  the  interviews,  one  felt  one  was  dealing  with 
a  person  who  was  struggling  hard  to  keep  in  contact  with  the 
external  world,  but  that  the  forces  were  too  great  against  success 
in  this  direction.  At  each  interview,  she  seemed  to  me  to  be 
drifting  further  and  further  into  a  stuporose  state.  She  could 
not  tell  me  where  her  thoughts  were  at  all.  She  felt  as  if  she 
were  smothered  in  a  cloud.  She  certainly  falls  into  the  dementia 
praecox  group,  and  obviously  is  in  need  of  hospital  treatment. 

The  point  of  interest  here  is  that  the  girl  was  conscious  that 
something  was  going  wrong  with  her.  She  wished  for  help,  but 
was  afraid  to  ask  for  it  as  she  would  be  called  ‘  fanny  ’.  There 
is  nothing  strange  in  that  attitude.  Most  people  fear  to  consult 
a  doctor  about  their  mental  troubles.  But  the  cause  of  this 
attitude  towards  ourselves  is  a  matter  for  consideration.  The 
unconscious  sense  of  guilt  that  lies  at  the  root  of  all  mental 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


75 


conflict  brings  about  the  fear  of  ‘  going  to  see  a  doctor  about  it 
and  what  is  feared  is  the  result  of  the  discovery  of  the  origin  of 
that  guilt. 

Now,  if  this  difficulty  is  to  be  met,  it  has  to  be  dealt  with  as 
a  reality — it  is  no  good  treating  the  persons  exhibiting  such 
a  fear  as  being  merely  silly.  Public  opinion  must  be  educated 
to  take  a  different  view  from  the  one  that  is  prevalent.  Psycho¬ 
logical  disharmonies,  varying  in  degree  from  merely  erratic 
behaviour  to  fully  developed  insanity,  are  as  inevitable  as  physical 
disabilities  which,  in  their  turn,  vary  in  degree  from  cut  fingers 
or  an  itch  to  such  gross  maladies  as  cancer  or  leprosy.  The  very 
fear  and  shame  that  this  girl  and  others  like  her  suffer  from  is 
a  symptom  of  the  malady. 


Case  13. 

Age  :  19.  Education  :  Convent.  Number  of  children  in  family  : 
two.  Position  of  girl  in  family  :  elder. 

This  girl,  aged  nineteen,  was  in  prison  for  stealing  four  one 
pound  notes.  She  was  a  probation  nurse  in  a  mental  hospital. 
She  came  of  highly  respectable  parents  who  were  tradespeople. 
There  were  two  in  the  family,  she  and  her  sister  who  was  some 
few  years  younger.  The  lather  had  died  of  phthisis  seven  years 
ago.  The  maternal  grandmother  suffered  from  asthma.  Her 
father  and  mother  were  very  devoted  to  each  other.  The  girl 
says  of  herself,  that  she  was  very  fond  of  her  father,  and  has 
never  got  over  the  blow  of  his  death.  She  complains  that  her 
mother  is  very  strict  and  ‘early  Victorian’,  that  she  is  very 
good,  but  that  she  had  never  been  able  to  get  on  with  her.  In 
the  intelligence  tests  she  did  rather  badly  with  the  form  test 
and  the  picture  completion  test,  and  showed  herself  definitely 
mentally  subnormal.  On  the  other  hand,  in  general  conversation 
she  strikes  one  as  being  very  intelligent,  and  as  having  a  good 
grasp  of  the  present  situation;  she  is  thinking  and  planning 
about  the  future.  At  the  first  interview,  she  showed  some  self- 
reproach  and  shame,  and  was  also  slightly  suspicious  and  resent¬ 
ful.  She  seemed  afraid  that  I  had  heard  by  letter  from  the 
mother.  She  was  brought  up  at  a  convent  because  she  was 
unmanageable  at  home. 

The  following  is  her  own  story : 

She  has  had  asthma  since  babyhood  and  had  to  leave  the 
convent  because  of  it.  She  went  into  service  at  fifteen,  and  did 
not  stop,  as  she  felt  her  mother  ought  to  keep  her  at  home  as 
well  as  the  baby  sister.  She  went  as  probation  nurse  into 
a  mental  hospital  when  seventeen  years  old,  and  had  to  leave  on 
account  of  asthma.  She  went  into  another  hospital  for  sixteen 
months,  and  finally  another  for  three  months,  where  she  had  an 
antrum  operation  and  pleurisy.  Some  months  ago,  she  started 
work  again  in  another  hospital.  On  each  successive  occasion 
she  claimed  to  have  had  no  experience  in  hospital  training,  so  as 
to  get  accepted.  In  this  last  hospital  she  ‘  picked  up  ’  the  four 
one-pound  notes.  She  heard  from  her  cubicle  a  girl  ‘  raging  and 


76 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

swearing  ’  she  would  set  the  police  on  to  find  the  thief.  She  had 
always  hated  the  girl,  and  when  she  heard  her  talking  like  that, 
she  thought  she  would  keep  the  notes  instead  of  taking  them  to 
the  superintendent,  as  she  had  always  done  before.  She  is  always 
picking  up  money,  but  she  alwaj’s  takes  it  to  the  superintendent 
(vide  mother’s  letter).  This  was  the  first  time  she  had  failed  to 
do  so,  and  that  was  because  she  hated  the  girl.  She  felt  herself 
superior  to  the  girl  in  her  work ;  and,  although  at  one  time  she 
was  subordinate  to  her,  later  she  had  been  her  superior  in 
position  in  the  hospital.  After  stealing  the  notes,  she  did  not 
sleep  for  a  fortnight,  and  finally  left  the  hospital.  Then  she 
wrote  to  say  that  she  had  stolen  the  money  and  had  spent  it ; 
she  had  spent  it  all,  early  in  the  day  following  the  theft,  on 
presents  for  her  friends. 

Much  later,  she  told  me  about  a  married  friend  of  her  father, 
who  always  came  in  to  help  her  mother  make  up  the  weekly 
accounts.  He  was  nice  enough  to  her  when  alone,  but  always 
backed  her  mother  when  the  latter  was  correcting  her.  She 
felt  this  was  no  business  of  his,  and  that  he  ought  not  to  hang 
around  her  mother  so  much.  She  herself  is  very  fond  of  this 
man  ;  and  admitted  ultimately,  that  she  would  like  to  many  him 
if  he  were  free,  but  that  her  mother  stood  in  her  way.  This 
admission  was  made  after  many  interviews  during  which  she 
had  accused  her  mother  of  immoral  conduct,  while  repeatedly 
asserting  that  she  herself  was  quite  indifferent  to  the  man.  AVith 
regard  to  stealing,  she  says  she  has  never  stolen  anything  before. 
She  has  had  many  ‘affaires  de  cceur’  but  never  a  serious  one. 
She  has  several  times  stayed  in  rooms  at  the  expense  of  her  men 
friends,  but  ‘  nothing  took  place  that  should  not  ’.  They  were 
friends  that  had  helped  her  in  tight  corners,  that  was  all.  She 
has  never  felt  really  fond  of  any  one  ;  except,  perhaps,  her  father’s 
friend.  I  will  insert  here  in  full  length  a  letter  I  received  from 
her  mother : 

‘  I  thank  you  for  your  enquiry  of  the  18th,  and  am  hopeful 
that  my  replies  may  be  of  some  service  in  getting  Lily  that 
treatment  which  will  eventually  correct  her  abnormal  be¬ 
haviour. 

From  early  childhood  she  has  been  a  source  of  great  trouble, 
being  stubborn,  wilful,  unreliable,  and  very  untruthful,  even 
persisting  in  lies  when  complete  evidence  of  guilt  has  been 
brought  before  her. 

She  has  had  asthmatic  trouble  since  she  was  six  months  of 
age  and  one  must  certainly  add  that  many  of  the  later  violent 
attacks  were  largely  the  result  of  her  own  carelessness,  in  addition 
to  which  she  could  simulate  an  attack  to  earn  sympathy  from 
those  who  did  not  know  her. 

Her  father’s  death  left  her  entirely  unaffected.  She  has 
always  shown  great  jealousy  of  her  little  sister,  this  at  times 
bordering  on  frenzy  and  she  has  made  violent  attacks  upon 
her  and  caused  much  suffering. 

Under  treatment  some  nine  months  ago  for  chest  weakness, 
a  doctor  told  me  in  her  presence  of  the  lung  trouble  and  she 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP  77 

is  quite  aware  what  the  probabilities  of  this  weakness  mean 
to  her. 

She  has  been  a  thief  since  she  was  ten  years  old,  stealing 
monies  and  goods  whenever  possible,  displaying  too  remarkable 
cunning  in  her  actions  and  afterwards  posing  as  innocent, 
even  persisting  in  such  innocence  when  completely  bowled  out. 

Her  great  weakness  is  men  and  she  has  spent  days  in  their 
company  unbeknown  to  me  until  found  out  afterwards  and 
then  swearing  and  blaspheming  when  taxed  with  her  conduct. 
She  is  entirely  unmoral  and  I  have  no  control  whatever  over 
her,  she  defying  me  beyond  limits  of  endurance.  I  have 
thought  for  some  time  that  detention  in  a  mental  home  until 
cured  is  her  only  salvation,  and  still  believe  this  to  be  the  only 
solution.  I  have  tried  kindness  and  every  known  maternal 
action  to  gain  her  love  and  confidence,  but  she  only  rewards 
my  endeavours  by  publicly  attributing  to  me  those  terrible 
traits  of  character  she  unfortunately  possesses  herself.’ 

The  mother’s  almost  remarkable  insight  into  the  mental  con¬ 
dition  of  this  girl  is  difficult  to  explain  in  a  person  of  her 
education,  in  whom  one  cannot  presuppose  any  understanding 
of  psychology  that  might  be  acquired  through  reading  and  lec¬ 
tures.  One  is  inclined  to  think  that  such  a  clear  insight  into  her 
daughter's  character  might  be  at  least  partly  due  to  complexes  of 
a  similar  nature  in  her  own  character. 

At  any  rate  it  is  very  obvious  that  the  girl  is  suffering  from 
mental  conflict  in  relation  to  both  the  mother  and  sister  and  also 
the  father’s  friend.  Her  jealousy  of  her  sister  ;  and  of  her  mother 
in  relation  to  this  male  friend  is  obvious.  At  first  she  denied 
jealousy  of  her  sister  and  mother,  but  later  on  admitted  both. 
With  regard  to  the  male  friend  she  said,  ‘  I  would  like  to  marry 
him  ’. 

As  with  all  these  cases  of  thieving,  we  find  running  right 
through  the  fibre  of  the  personality  a  sense  of  deprivation,  ‘of 
being  cheated  ’.  It  is  not  always  so  easy  to  discover  this  in 
a  superficial  raking  over  of  the  material  offered  by  these  subjects  ; 
but  after  a  time  it  invariably  comes  out. 

In  this  case  the  girl  had  some  insight.  She  was  on  the 
defensive  and  a  little  negativistic  to  begin  with,  but  this  attitude 
passed  and  she  began  to  take  a  real  interest  in  her  own  problem. 


Case  14. 

Age :  19.  Education :  Elementary.  Standard  V.  Mentally 
defective.  Number  of  children  in  family:  5.  Position  of  girl 
in  family :  youngest  and  illegitimate.  Physical  condition  :  lobes 
of  ears  adherent,  both  little  fingers  contracted  to  right  angle 
from  birth. 

This  girl  had  been  sent  to  Borstal  for  house-breaking  and 
stealing,  and,  later,  was  sent  from  Borstal  to  prison  on  account  of 
her  unmanageableness  there. 

She  is  a  negroid.  Her  father  is  said  to  be  a  ‘South  African 


78  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

Greek  She  used  to  play  truant  from  school,  and  at  the  age  of 
eleven  and  a  half  years  she  managed  to  evade  school  altogether. 
She  does  not  realize  she  is  illegitimate.  Her  mother  and  her 
pseudo-father  are  kind,  respectable  people.  They  are  willing  to 
take  the  girl  back  and  to  do  what  they  can  for  her.  Her  mother 
used  to  go  out  to  work,  and  she  ran  wild.  She  got  in  with  a  bad 
set  of  girls  and  began  to  steal.  She  felt  that,  while  tlie  others 
got  away,  she  was  always  being  caught  because  of  her  colour. 

From  the  age  of  thirteen  she  has  been  in  and  out  of  reforma¬ 
tories  all  the  time.  As  soon  as  she  comes  out  she  steals. 
Although  this  girl  has  had  little  opportunity  or  time,  one  would 
think,  yet  she  claims  to  belong  to  a  ‘  gang  ’.  She  says  of  them, 
they  are  fair  and  square  and  they  share  the  proceeds.  She  picks 
up  any  pretty  thing  she  comes  across,  especially  jewellery. 
These  things  she  gives  away  just  as  easily  as  she  picks  them  up. 
If  anybody  admires  anything  she  has  got  and  asks  for  it,  she 
gives  it  to  them.  She  is  full  of  bitter  hatred  and  resentment 
over  her  fate.  She  is  very  loud  in  her  denunciations  of  Borstal. 

‘  You  have  to  be  bad  to  be  taken  notice  of.  You  have  to  play  up 
to  the  governor.  It  does  not  help  us,  it  makes  us  worse.  They 
despise  her  although  they  gain  privileges  by  playing  up.  Why 
don’t  they  keep  us  in  order?  Why  don’t  they  punish  us  properly 
and  so  teach  us  manners  ?  I  never  swore  until  I  went  there. 
All  the  girls  swear  and  use  what  language  they  like.  Now  I 
swear ;  not  when  I  am  outside,  I  get  out  of  it  then,  but  inside. 
The  worst  they  do  is  to  confine  us  to  our  rooms  for  two  nights. 
That  is  no  punishment.  Why  don’t  they  degrade  one.  That 
would  teach  us  to  have  manners.’ 

The  above  is  no  reflection  on  the  governor’s  mode  of  discipline 
at  Borstal,  but  it  is  a  very  interesting  side  light  as  to  how  some 
of  the  girls  take  sympathetic  and  loving  treatment.  One  finds 
this  attitude  towards  this  kind  of  treatment  mostly  in  the  unruly 
and  rebellious  type  of  girl.  The  one  thing  they  feel  the  need 
for  and  ask  for  is  discipline.  They  know  their  weakness  and 
they  beg  for  support  on  that  side.  They  feel  they  can  only  be 
made  to  drop  the  bad  habit  by  receiving  a  sharp  enough  punish¬ 
ment  to  make  the  habit  not  worth  while.  Punishment  in  this 
way  can  be  a  moral  support. 

The  girl,  although  a  mental  defective,  was  plainly  suffering 
from  mental  conflict.  She  is  feeling  cheated,  deprived  of  some¬ 
thing  ;  she  feels  she  is  not  like  others  on  account  of  her  colour ; 
she  feels  inferior.  She  steals  to  make  good  this  deprivation,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  to  compensate  for  her  inferiority  feeling  on 
the  other.  The  unconscious  sense  of  guilt  drives  her  to  seek 
punishment.  She  commits  all  sorts  of  rebellious  and  unruly  acts 
and  feels  thwarted  when  these  are  not  severely  punished.  This 
lack  of  punishment  leaves  her  with  her  guilt  sense  unallayed. 

I  have  chosen  this  present  case  for  several  reasons : 

1.  She  is  a  mental  defective  with  mental  conflict. 

2.  She  displays  an  attitude  towards  punishment  which 
many  others,  whose  chief  characteristic  is  rebelliousness,  but 
who  are  not  mentally  defective,  display  also. 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


79 


3.  And  lastly,  I  have  chosen  her  as  a  case  which  it  would  be 

interesting,  from  an  experimental  point  of  view,  to  analyse. 

The  result,  if  the  analysis  were  successful,  would,  at  least, 
answer  two  important  questions  : 

1.  Can  a  mental  defective  with  mental  conflict  be  analysed  ? 

2.  If  the  analysis  has  been  successful,  does  the  intelligence 

quotient  remain  unaltered  ? 

This  girl  had  been  found  mentally  deficient  on  both  the 
Terman  tests  and  the  Hamblin-Smith  tests  by  two  different 
investigators.  By  the  Terman  test  she  had  a  mental  age  of 
8-7/12  years.  If  the  answer  to  both  these  questions  were  to  be 
in  the  affirmative  in  the  case  of  a  subject  showing  an  intelligence 
of  so  low  a  mental  age  as  this,  then  clearly  the  same  questions 
would  be  answered  for  all  those  in  the  subnormal  group,  who 
were  showing  mental  conflict. 

I  found  with  most  girls  of  the  rebellious  type  that,  after  a  few 
interviews,  they  were  beginning  to  get  anxious  to  understand 
themselves,  and  with  this  attitude  a  dawning  of  hope  appeared. 
In  the  case  under  discussion,  apart  from  the  testing,  the  girl 
gave  one  the  impression  of  being  very  ignorant  and  uneducated, 
but  by  no  means  really  stupid.  It  is,  perhaps,  worth  noting 
that  the  teacher  who  had  charge,  of  the  educational  classes  in 
this  prison,  had  independently  come  to  the  same  conclusion  about 
the  girl. 

Case  15. 

Age :  23.  Education :  Elementary.  Grade  IX.  Number  of 
children  in  family:  five.  Position  of  girl  in  family:  eldest. 
Physical  condition :  irregular  teeth,  narrow  high  palate,  slight 
exophthalmos.  Intelligence:  normal. 

This  girl  became  pregnant  as  the  result  of  a  love  affair  with 
a  young  man,  who  threw  her  over  as  soon  as  he  knew  her 
condition.  The  girl  is  overwhelmed  with  the  responsibility  and 
the  disgrace,  and  feels  a  natural  resentment  against  her  seducer. 

Her  mother  is  neurotic  and  spends  her  time  weeping  and 
lamenting  her  daughter’s  ‘  shame  ’,  and  will  not  even  see  the 
baby.  She  threatens  suicide  if  the  disgrace  becomes  known. 
The  father  died  a  short  time  ago,  and  the  girl  attributes  his 
death  to  the  shock  of  hearing  of  her  pregnancy.  This  explanation 
is  also  impressed  upon  her  by  her  mother.  Because  of  the  grief 
and  shame  that  she  has  caused  her  mother,  her  mother  demands 
that  she  shall  return  home  and  support  her  with  her  wages.  The 
girl  falls  in  with  this  and  feels  it  her  responsibility.  There 
seems  to  be  no  actual  financial  need  for  this.  Therefore,  it  may 
be  concluded  that  the  mother  feels  deprived  of  something  which 
the  girl  has  to  make  good.  The  girl  accepts  the  giving  up  of 
her  wages  to  make  good  this  deprivation.  There  does  not  appear 
to  be  any  logic  in  the  demands  made  upon  the  unfortunate  girl, 
but  since  the  girl  agrees  with  the  mother,  we  must  look  into  the 
unconscious  to  discover  the  meaning  of  her  attitude. 

It  is  a  frequent  occurrence  for  mothers  of  girls  who  have 


80 


PSYCHOLOGY  OP  DELINQUENCY 

‘  gone  wrong  ’  to  demand  servile  obedience  and  the  surrender  of 
their  wages,  as  a  consequence  of  their  ‘  sin  In  one  case,  the 
mother  not  only  demanded  the  wages  of  the  girl,  but  when  the 
girl  demurred,  threatened  to  go  to  the  Governor  of  the  prison 
and  to  insist  on  her  being  placed  in  prison  again.  The  girl  on 
her  side,  although  she  felt  rebellious,  was  plainly  under  the  same 
impression  as  her  mother  with  regard  to  her  deed  and  the 
obligation  arising  out  of  it;  and  also  believed  that  it  was  in 
the  power  of  the  mother  to  make  the  Governor  take  her  back  to 
prison. 

Case  16. 

Age:  16.  Education:  Elementary.  Standard  YII.  Number 
of  children  in  family :  seven.  Position  of  girl  in  family :  second. 

This  girl  was  just  over  sixteen  when  I  met  her,  and  she  had 
already  been  in  prison  before  for  the  same  offence,  viz.  that  of 
being  drunk  and  disorderly.  Her  home  conditions  seemed  to 
be  all  that  one  could  ask  for.  The  father  and  mother  had  always 
been  particularly  kind,  in  fact,  they  had  rather  spoilt  this  girl  on 
account  of  the  fact  that  when  she  was  a  child  of  three  after  an 
attack  of  pneumonia  and  measles,  she  was  left  with  a  blind  left 
eye,  and  a  bad  strabismus  of  the  right.  When  I  saw  the  girl, 
she  gave  me  the  impression  of  being  mentally  defective.  How¬ 
ever,  this  was  by  no  means  the  case.  She  is  badly  cross-eyed, 
and  has  a  perpetual  leer  on  her  face.  She  is  also  a  mouth 
breather,  and  her  hair  is  untidy  and  long,  though  bobbed.  Her 
menstruation  started  three  months  ago,  and  has  been  very 
irregular,  and  there  has  been  much  dysmenorrhoea  and  metro¬ 
rrhagia.  She  talked  very  freely  and  rather  excitedly.  She  told 
me  that  of  their  rather  large  family  of  seven,  she  was  the  only 
one  who  had  turned  out  badly.  She  left  school  at  thirteen, 
having  reached  Standard  VII,  and  tried  several  different  jobs 
within  the  first  two  months.  Then  she  stayed  at  home  helping 
her  mother  with  the  daily  scrubbing.  She  did  much  as  she 
liked,  and  wandered  about  the  streets  at  night,  coming  in  at 
10  o’clock. 

Her  father,  after  the  first  time  she  got  into  trouble  with  the 
police,  bought  a  wireless  set  for  her  in  the  hope  of  keeping  her 
in  of  an  evening  He  also  from  that  time  onwards  has  been 
searching  for  rooms  in  another  part  of  London. 

Since  being  in  prison  the  girl  claims  to  have  had  no  sleep  and 
that  her  bowels  have  not  been  open,  and  says  that  when  she  was 
in  before  (one  month)  she  neither  slept  nor  had  her  bowels  open 
the  whole  time !  She  is  afraid  to  sleep  and  she  is  afraid  to  go 
to  the  lavatory.  There  are  no  keys  on  the  doors,  and  she  could 
not  defaecate  with  the  chance  of  any  one  coming  in.  She  is 
a  nuisance  in  prison,  going  in  for  regular  smashes.  Her  last  act 
of  insubordination  was  in  class.  She  had  been  working  up  for 
it.  She  refused  to  have  a  bath  on  account  of  her  fear  of  exposure  ; 
and  to  secure  this  freedom,  she  had  evolved  the  idea  that  obstinate 
refusal  and  insubordination  would  get  her  into  hospital.  As  I 
am  not  conversant  with  the  inside  workings  of  the  hospital,  I  do 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


81 


not  know  whether  she  would  derive  any  advantage  from  this 
procedure.  The  point  is  that  this  complex  with  regard  to  her 
excretory  functions  and  to  exposure  seems  in  this  case  to  have 
been  the  reason  for  the  outbreak. 

She  is  uncomfortably  aware  of  her  ugly  looks.  She  was  told 
once  that  she  should  have  an  operation  to  put  her  eyes  straight, 
but  her  mother  will  not  hear  of  it.  She  herself,  would  like  it 
done.  She  is  keen  on  book-keeping,  but  cannot  get  a  job.  She 
says  ‘  When  they  see  my  face,  they  turn  me  down  ’.  Her  pro¬ 
clivity  for  wandering  in  the  streets,  which  leads  her  into  trouble 
with  the  police,  follows  a  more  or  less  definite  sequence.  She 
wanders  out  on  the  street,  and  is  asked  to  take  a  drink  by  some 
man,  who,  from  her  looks,  judges  her  to  be  rather  weak-minded, 
and  therefore  easily  accessible  for  ‘  immoral  ’  purposes.  This  is 
followed  by  an  invitation  to  the  girl  to  go  with  him  for  afewminutes. 
She  realizes  for  what  purpose  the  invitation  is  made,  and  walks 
away  with  him.  Then  by  the  simple  ruse  of  saying  ‘  Oh  !  there 
is  my  father  coming’,  she  gets  away  from  the  man,  who  makes 
a  rapid  retreat.  This  procedure  failed  on  one  occasion  when  she 
was  too  1  muzzy  ’  to  know  what  she  was  doing. 

One  cannot  help  feeling  here  that  a  girl,  who  puts  herself  into 
a  situation  only  to  escape  from  it,  is  doing  it  for  a  definite 
purpose ;  and  it  would  seem  likely,  from  the  information  one 
has  of  her,  that  the  motive  is  to  compensate  her  inferiority  feeling. 
She  satisfies  herself  by  the  repetition  of  this  situation,  that  she 
is  attractive  to  those  of  the  opposite  sex. 

Obviously  this  girl  suffers  from  mental  conflict.  That 
straightening  her  eyes,  tidying  her  up  generally,  and  getting 
her  a  situation  in  which  she  could  do  book-keeping  would 
entirely  set  her  at  harmony  with  the  world  is  unlikely,  but  it 
would  at  least  serve  to  decrease  the  constant  stimulation  of  her 
inferiority  feeling.  As  she  is  at  present,  she  shows  signs  of 
becoming  a  dementia  praecox.  Her  behaviour  is  getting  daily 
more  childish,  and  her  delusions  about  her  sleep  and  excreta 
become  stronger. 

Case  17. 

Amy  was  a  woman  of  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  She  had 
many  convictions  for  the  same  offence,  viz.  that  of  larceny. 
She  was  the  youngest  of  eight,  and  had  a  father,  who  drank  and 
had  violent  fits  of  temper.  Her  grandfather  on  the  paternal  side 
was  committed  to  an  asylum.  What  the  form  of  insanity  from 
which  he  suffered  was,  the  girl  was  unable  to  tell  me.  The 
father  used  to  knock  her  mother  about ;  and  her  mother  is 
always  ‘  understanding  ’  towards  her  delinquencies,  as  she  puts 
her  behaviour  down  to  these  attacks  on  the  part  of  the  father 
while  she  (the  mother)  was  ‘  carrying  ’  her.  She  had  fits  as 
a  child,  which  disappeared  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  have  only 
appeared  again  two  years  ago  after  an  operation  for  perforated 
gastric  ulcer  (she  has  scars  on  her  forehead  and  a  broken  wrist, 
which  she  attributes  to  these  fits).  She  was  blind  for  six  days 
after  the  operation.  As  a  child  she  remembers  the  violent  attacks 

1463  F 


82 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

her  father  made  upon  her  mother.  She  used  to  scream  with 
fright  and  sometimes  ran  in  between  them.  On  one  occasion, 
when  she  was  holding  the  door  against  the  father,  he  forced  it 
open  and  drove  the  door  knob  into  her  neck  (she  shows  a  scar  in 
this  position).  The  father  appears  to  have  been  very  unstable. 
He  drank,  but  during  periods  when  he  was  not  drinking,  his 
behaviour  was  wild  and  uncontrolled.  On  one  occasion,  when 
the  housekeeper  asked  him  to  clean  his  boots  on  the  mat  before 
going  upstairs  (he  was  a  bailiff  on  a  farm),  he  took  her  up  and 
put  her  on  the  fire.  Amy  says  of  herself  that  she  was  ‘  hysterical  ’ 
as  a  child,  very  nervous,  and  very  talkative.  She  was  not 
allowed  to  do  home  lessons  as  they  were  always  afraid  of  fits. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-two  she  married  a  titled  man  of  foreign 
extraction.  (This  is  fact,  not  fancy.)  She  never  had  any  affection 
for  him.  He  was  fifty-two  and  acted  like  a  father  to  her.  She 
thinks  his  money  may  have  attracted  her.  She  had  motors, 
jewellery,  and  she  travelled  about  with  him  until  he  was  killed 
in  a  riot  (also  found  to  be  a  fact).  She  then  went  home  to  her 
mother  for  six  months,  after  which  she  lived  with  a  man,  and 
finally  married  another  with  whom  she  seemed  to  be  genuinely 
in  love.  She  has  fits  about  once  in  three  months,  usually  at 
a  menstrual  period.  Always,  at  these  times,  whether  she  has 
a  fit  or  not,  she  feels  depressed,  extremely  restless  and  disturbed 
until  she  feels  she  must  do  something  or  go  mad.  She  then 
smashes  anything  within  her  reach.  She  has  smashed  her  own 
furniture  and  crockery  on  several  occasions.  If  some  one  happens 
to  be  near  her,  she  will  attempt  to  ‘  smash’  him  or  her  too.  Or  some¬ 
times  she  feels  depressed  and  vague  or  dazed,  and  then  she  does 
not  know  what  she  is  doing.  This  seems  to  have  happened 
when  she  has  stolen  garments.  She  never  wears  them ;  they 
are  usually  entirely  unsuitable  for  her  to  wear.  She  may  go  to 
a  shop  with  a  list  and  come  back  with  an  empty  basket.  When 
she  goes  to  take  apparel  she  must  do  it.  It  would  make  no 
difference  if  a  policeman  were  standing  by.  Her  reaction  after¬ 
wards  is  immediate  relief  from  the  feeling  of  ‘  going  mad  ’  and 
following  on  that,  misery  and  depression  over  what  she  has 
done.  Once,  when  she  had  cut  her  husband  on  the  head  with 
a  decanter,  she  used  his  razor  in  an  attempt  to  commit  suicide 
(she  shows  a  scar  on  the  arm  which  certainly  could  have  been 
made  with  a  razor).  On  another  occasion,  she  tried  to  commit 
suicide  by  drinking  spirits  of  salts.  Her  mother-in-law  is  a  great 
trial  to  her.  She  is  always  trying  to  get  her  husband  away 
from  her.  She  has  tried  to  do  this  with  all  the  sons’  wives. 
She  drove  her  own  husband  away  from  her  altogether  many 
years  ago  by  her  continual  interference  with  his  every  movement. 

Amy’s  husband  beat  her  once  when  she  was  six  and  a  half 
months  pregnant ;  and  the  baby  was  born  dead.  She  feels 
ashamed  of  her  behaviour,  and  doubly  so,  since  she  married  her 
present  husband  to  whom  she  is  very  attached.  For  his  sake 
she  means  to  change  her  life,  and  for  the  first  time  is  taking  an 
interest  in  religion.  She  started  this  after  her  arrest,  when  she 
suddenly  felt  her  mother’s  presence.  She  got  a  prayer  book 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


83 


and  found  her  mother’s  hymn  and  then  prayed.  She  thinks  she 
will  never  stop  now.  At  the  same  time,  she  hates  her  mother-in- 
law  and  would  like  to  kill  her,  and  would  certainly  kill  any  one 
who  dared  to  live  with  her  husband.  This  was  said  in  connexion 
with  the  possibility  of  her  husband  divorcing  her,  which  she 
thinks  he  can  do. 

Here  we  have  a  very  complicated  state  of  affairs.  The  patient 
starts  off  with  a  heredity  which  has  endowed  her  with  a  lack 
of  nervous  stability.  She  suffers  from  fits  up  to  the  age  of 
fifteen,  about  the  time  she  commenced  menstruation.  We  know 
that  throughout  her  childhood  she  suffered  all  the  strain  a 
nervous  child  could  be  subjected  to,  that  she  was  highly 
excitable  and  ‘  hysterical  ’ ;  and  I  am  inclined  to  look  upon  the 
fits  as  hysterical  faints  rather  than  true  epilepsy.  There  was  no 
history  of  aura ;  she  would  merely  drop  suddenly,  and  although 
she  had  no  evidence  of  injury  to  the  tongue,  she  had  many  scars 
from  these  falls.  They  commenced  again  when  she  had  become 
very  anaemic  as  a  consequence  of  the  haemorrhage  due  to  the 
perforation  of  the  gastric  ulcer.  As  she  grew  less  anaemic,  the 
fits  became  less  and  are  now  very  infrequent.  When  they  occur, 
it  is  usually  at  the  menses. 

The  states  she  gets  into  at  these  times  can  be  explained  if  we 
look  upon  them  as  psychoneurotic  manifestations.  She  is  com¬ 
pelled  to  go  through  a  certain  sequence  of  emotions  on  each 
occasion.  First  comes  a  state  of  depression,  followed  rapidly  by 
an  ever  increasing  anxiety  state,  and  a  final  relief  through  the 
bursting  through  into  action  of  the  repressed  desire  to  ‘  smash  ’, 
that  is,  to  destroy.  The  relief  is  complete,  but  later  it  is  followed 
by  misery  and  despair  as  she  realizes  once  more  the  injury  she 
has  done  and  her  inability  to  do  anything  to  prevent  its  recur¬ 
rence.  In  variation  of  this  cycle  of  events  there  is  another 
mode  of  attack.  In  this  also  she  has  a  preliminary  depression 
which  is  accompanied  by  a  state  of  confusion,  followed  by  a 
feeling  of  tension  which  lasts  until  she  ‘snatches’  some  clothes. 
Even  then  the  clothes,  as  such,  have  no  value,  and  are  quite 
unsuitable  for  her  personal  use ;  but  she  gets  a  feeling  that  she 
will  go  mad  if  she  does  not  take  them.  Relief  follows  as  before. 
Here  again  there  is  a  definite  cycle  of  events :  depression, 
anxiety  culminating  in  action,  relief  and  the  subsequent  normal 
reaction  of  any  self-respecting  individual  who  has  committed  an 
unpleasant  act.  This  happens  regularly  at  a  time  when,  in 
a  woman,  sexual  desire  is  normally  at  its  height. 

It  is  obvious  that  here  we  have  another  individual  who  needs 
treatment,  with  at  least  a  hope  of  cure,  rather  than  prison  and 
its  inevitable  repetition. 

Case  18. 

Bessie  is  a  woman  of  twenty-nine  years,  and  has  had  many 
convictions  against  her  for  drunkenness  and  disorderliness.  She 
is  a  Scotchwoman,  the  youngest  of  three,  and  had  for  a 
father  one  of  the  dour  and  puritanical  type  of  her  countrymen. 
He  brought  up  the  family  strict^,  was  ‘  self-righteous  ’,  and 

f  2 


84 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

suspicious  of  all  that  went  on  around  him.  This  might  have 
been  accentuated  by  the  fact  that  he  was  somewhat  deaf. 
The  children  were  made  to  go  to  Church  three  times  every 
Sunday,  and  were  ‘  raved  at  ’  if  they  dared  to  look  at  a  paper  on 
the  Sabbath,  although  the  father  indulged  himself  in  this  pastime. 
The  mother  committed  suicide  when  Bessie  was  a  baby.  Speaking 
of  herself  Bessie  says  that  she  was  rather  nervous  as  a  child ; 
she  used  to  get  hysterical  and  at  other  times  depressed.  She 
has  never  known  her  father  to  laugh  ;  his  lack  of  response  to 
the  humorous  used  frequently  to  start  her  off  in  one  of  these 
laughing  and  crying  fits.  She  reached  the  highest  class  in  her 
school.  She  had  no  difficulty  in  learning.  She  left  school  at 
fifteen  years  of  age  ;  and  about  this  time  her  father  married 
again.  The  step-mother  was  his  housekeeper,  a  hard,  unrefined, 
coarse  woman  whom  Bessie  never  liked.  The  step-mother  used 
to  worry  her  for  her  untidiness.  They  were  never  allowed 
friends.  There  was  a  step-brother,  whom  Bessie  used  to  look 
after,  and  of  whom  she  was  very  fond.  When  nineteen  years 
old  she  and  her  sister  once  dared  to  go  for  a  walk  with  two  boy 
acquaintances  instead  of  going  to  church.  They  paired  off,  and 
she  and  her  boy  friend  wandered  on  regardless  of  time,  till,  to 
her  horror  she  discovered  it  was  past  10  p.m.  She  was  too 
terrified  to  go  home,  so  they  sat  out  all  night.  She  says  she  had 
no  idea  of  ‘  anything  ’  then  ;  and  that  they  were  both  as  innocent 
as  new-born  babes.  Nothing  so  much  as  a  kiss  passed  between 
them.  The  father  was  so  angry  he  refused  her  the  house  again, 
telling  her  she  had  made  her  own  bed  and  she  must  lie  on  it. 
She  fortunately  was  taken  in  by  a  friend  of  her  sister  :  and  was 
ultimately  taken  on  as  a  nursemaid  to  the  children.  This 
brought  her  to  London.  She  frequently  suffered  from  fits  of 
depression,  which  were  accentuated  or  brought  on  by  the  slightest 
criticism.  She  cannot  bear  to  feel  she  is  not  giving  satisfaction. 
Later  she  became  maid  to  a  lady,  who  was  repeatedly  taken  ill. 
She  learnt  through  a  friend  that  her  lady’s  illnesses  were  the 
result  of  drink.  The  friend  enlarged  on  the  uses  of  drink  and 
persuaded  her  to  try  it  when  depressed.  The  immediate  relief 
from  depression  was  too  much  for  her,  and  she  has  been  entirely 
unable  to  control  her  desire  for  drink  when  depressed  ever  since. 
She  is  terribly  distressed  and  sees  a  hopeless  future  before  her 
unless  something  is  done  for  her.  She  was  in  a  nursing-home 
for  a  time,  but  she  could  not  stand  the  depression  and  ran  away. 
She  is  convinced,  however  that  only  a  ‘  doctor  ’  can  help  her. 
She  is  quite  powerless  to  help  herself  and  pleads  that  something 
should  be  done.  She  feels  that  she  should  be  curable,  because 
she  ‘strives  so  hard  to  help  herself’.  From  other  sources 
I  found  she  was  a  good  and  capable  worker  :  that  she  had  ‘  a  lot 
of  good  in  her  ’ ;  but  that  there  is  ‘  such  a  hardness  in  her  that 
one  keeps  coming  up  against  ’.  There  is  little  more  of  value  to 
report  in  the  history  of  this  woman  ;  nor  is  there  need  to  demon¬ 
strate  any  further  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  sick  person  rather 
than  a  wilful  criminal. 

The  salient  points  in  this  case  are  the  suicide  of  the  mother, 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


85 


the  neurotic  disposition  of  the  father,  indicating  the  hereditary 
taint ;  the  hysterical  states  and  depressions  of  the  woman  when 
a  child  and  her  neurotic  reactions  to  any  criticism  by  states  of 
depression.  Her  plea  that  only  a  doctor  can  help  her,  and  thus 
claiming  herself  as  a  sick  person,  shews  insight  into  her  condi¬ 
tion,  and  I  think  that  psycho-analysis  might  well  be  tried  in 
this  case. 


Case  19. 

Age  :  20.  Education  :  Convent  School.  Number  of  children 
in  family :  one.  Position  of  girl  in  family  :  only  one. 

When  I  saw  this  girl  she  was  recovering  from  revolver  shot 
wounds.  She  was  in  a  hypomanic  state,  but  was  able  to  give 
me  a  coherent  history  of  herself,  which  is  as  follows  : 

She  has  always  been  a  troublesome  girl  as  far  back  as  she  can 
remember.  She  was  sent  to  school  at  a  convent,  from  which  she 
ran  away  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  refused  to  go  back.  She 
then  took  up  various  employments,  e.g.  typing,  mechanics, 
dressmaking,  &c.,  only  to  throw  them  over  almost  immediately. 
The  longest  time  she  stayed  in  any  one  place  was  for  eighteen 
months  as  mannequin  in  a  shop.  She  got  in  with  a  lot  of  young 
men,  while  she  was  there,  with  whom  she  was  very  friendly. 
She  does  not  know  what  it  is  to  feel  affectionate  or  to  have  any 
love  for  any  one.  ‘  That  was  knocked  out  of  me  between  the 
ages  of  one  and  nine  Although  she  has  a  mild  fondness  for 
her  parents,  she  knows  she  would  not  grieve  if  they  died.  She 
looks  down  upon  her  mother  and  says  of  her  that  she  is  good, 
virtuous,  religious,  kind,  generous,  and  a  very  nervous  little 
person.  She  speaks  of  her  father  as  happy-go-lucky  and  irre¬ 
sponsible  like  herself.  She  makes  platonic  friendships  with 
men  and  has  no  use  for  women.  She  has  been  in  for  numerous 
escapades  and  glories  in  them.  They  seem  to  be  mainly  of  a 
shady  nature,  but  strictly  ‘  non-sexual  ’. 

On  the  present  occasion  she  went  over  to  the  Continent  to  see 
some  one  on  business.  She  left  her  hotel  over  here,  where  she  had 
a  suite  of  rooms,  without  paying  for  them.  She  also  took  several 
gowns  from  a  person  exhibiting  them  at  the  hotel.  Her  attitude 
to  that  is,  ‘  If  people  are  foolish  enough  to  trust,  they  deserve 
all  they  get  ’. 

When  she  reached  her  destination  abroad,  the  man  she  was  to 
do  business  with  failed  her.  She  found  herself  in  a  hotel,  without 
means  to  pay  or  to  get  away,  so,  apparently,  without  waiting  to 
think  things  over,  she  said  to  herself,  ‘  I  have  had  a  good  time 
and  here  is  the  end  ’.  She  went  up  to  her  room,  cleaned  up  her 
‘  gun’,  and  got  into  bed.  She  thought  it  rather  a  cheerless  way 
of  ‘doing  it’,  so  rang  the  bell  and  ordered  a  cocktail.  After 
this  she  felt  more  cheerful,  thought  she  was  being  a  coward,  so 
put  the  pistol  away  in  the  drawer.  She  woke  up  three  weeks 
later  to  find  her  head  bandaged.  She  has  no  recollection  how  it 
came  about.  From  the  position  of  the  wounds,  I  should  judge 
they  were  self-inflicted.  She  poses  as  having  an  ‘  Omar  Khayam  ’ 


86 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

attitude  towards  the  world,  but,  nevertheless,  she  gave  me  the 
impression  that  she  is  up  against  something.  That  ‘  something  ’ 
has  probably  to  do  with  what  she  refers  to  as  happening  between 
the  ages  of  one  and  nine ;  the  details  about  which  she  was 
entirely  reticent,  although  she  frequently  mentioned  it.  At 
subsequent  interviews  she  was  in  the  same  hypomanic  state. 
She  w,as  a  great  person,  and  was  wonderful  in  what  she  had 
accomplished  and  could  accomplish.  She  had  a  peculiar  way 
of  ending  everything  she  was  saying  with  a  ‘  ha  !  ha !  ’ 

I  am  not  inclined  to  look  upon  her  condition  as  simple  mania 
or  dementia  praecox,  although  her  behaviour  resembles  somewhat 
that  of  dementia  praecox.  She  gives  me  the  impression  that 
all  her  excitement  and  posing  is  a  very  strong  effort  to  shut  out 
a  state  of  mind  which  is  quite  the  opposite  of  what  she  makes  it 
out  to  be.  The  expression  of  this  underlying  emotion  would  do 
much  to  relieve  her  present  condition. 


Case  20. 

Age  :  18-|.  Education  :  Elementary.  Number  of  children  in 
family  :  three.  Position  of  girl  in  family  :  youngest. 

Peggy  had  been  sent  from  Borstal  to  Holloway  Prison,  as  she 
was  unmanageable.  Her  offence  was  that  of  stealing.  Her 
mother  died  when  she  was  eight.  From  then  onwards  up  to 
the  age  of  thirteen  she  was  first  with  one  relation  and  then  with 
another.  She  was  knocked  about  a  good  deal.  No  one  ever 
wanted  her.  Her  father  was  away  at  the  front.  When  he 
returned  he  married  again  and  brought  his  three  children  home. 
The  step-mother  treated  them  badly,  being  jealous  of  them  with 
their  father.  She  could  scarcely  bear  that  they  should  speak  to 
him.  The  step-mother  sent  her  to  service  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
‘  far  away  and  told  her  never  to  come  back  again.  She  first 
got  into  trouble  by  exchanging  some  garments  with  another 
girl  for  a  pair  of  shoes.  The  shoes  had  been  stolen,  and  the  girl 
from  whom  she  obtained  them  said  in  defence  that  Pegg}r  had 
stolen  them.  She  was  sent  to  a  Home  for  a  month.  When  she 
came  out,  the  girl  came  to  her  and  apologized  for  her  wrong 
action  in  accusing  her.  Peggy  was  so  angry  that  she  had  been 
unjustly  treated  by  detention  in  a  Home  that  she  made  up  her 
mind  to  do  something  that  really  deserved  punishment.  She 
deliberately  stole  a  hat  and  a  coat,  and  in  consequence  was  given 
three  years  at  Borstal.  She  frequently  tried  to  run  away,  and 
was  so  troublesome  one  way  and  another  that  finally  she  was 
sent  to  Holloway. 

When  I  saw  her,  the  girl  was  in  a  terrible  state  of  rebellion 
and  despair.  She  complained  that  her  memory  was  going,  that 
she  felt  like  a  rat  in  a  trap,  that  if  she  could  only  get  out  of  the 
present  predicament  she  was  sure  she  would  go  straight.  She 
had  never  intended  to  get  herself  into  such  trouble.  Three  years 
in  Borstal  and  now  Holloway  seemed  to  her  outrageous  treatment 
for  her  foolish  act.  If  only  they  would  give  her  a  chance.  She 


THE  PSYCHOPATHIC  GROUP 


87 


only  stole  as  an  act  of  revenge.  She  would  not  be  such  a  fool 
again.  It  was  not  as  if  she  could  not  keep  her  fingers  off  things. 

She  was  depressed  and  looked  very  ill  and  emaciated,  and  had 
an  unhealthy  colour.  She  was  very  sensitive  to  her  surroundings, 
and  felt  that  she  was  hated  by  those  around  her.  ‘  I  don’t  smash 
up  and  cause  trouble  like  the  other  girls  do.  They  are  jealous 
of  me  because  the  officers  trust  me  and  because  I  don’t  play  up. 
But,’  she  added,  ‘  it  does  not  pay  to  be  good.’ 

This  was  a  case  where  the  girl  was  in  need,  not  only  of  psycho¬ 
logical  treatment,  but  of  leniency.  I  think  that  if  she  had  been 
told  quite  definitely  the  date  on  which  she  would  be  allowed  out,  it 
would  have  allayed  the  acuteness  of  the  situation.  The  mental 
stress  caused  by  the  feeling  of  being  trapped,  and  the  tremendous 
need  for  revenge,  was  making  it  quite  impossible,  without  some 
such  promise  of  release,  for  her  to  conduct  herself  satisfactorily. 
In  her  excessive  need  for  revenge,  in  fact,  in  the  original  foolish 
impulsive  act  of  revenge,  she  was  driven  by  her  unconscious. 
The  tendency  to  react  to  a  sense  of  injury  or  injustice  by  asocial 
behaviour  cannot  be  dealt  with  without  psychological  treatment ; 
and  punishment  in  such  a  case  must  inevitably  increase  the 
rebellious  behaviour  rather  than  modify  it. 


SECTION  VI 

SUMMARY  AND  PROPOSALS  FOR  A  CONSTRUCTIVE 

POLICY 

A.  Summary. 

In  reviewing  the  foregoing  material  certain  points  stand  out 
as  being  of  special  interest.  But  before  elaborating  these,  it  is 
necessary  to  make  a  few  preliminary  remarks.  As  has  already 
been  noted,  the  number  of  cases  is  small  (200),  and  therefore  one 
cannot  draw  final  conclusions  from  them,  but  several  facts  stand 
out  very  clearly : 

(1)  That  mental  imbalance  is  evident  in  a  large  proportion  of 
the  cases. 

There  are  111  cases  (56  Prison;  55  Preventive  Cases)  out  of 
200,  for  whom  psychological  treatment  in  one  form  or  other  is 
necessary.  This  figure  excludes  mental  defectives  and  con¬ 
stitutional  inferiors.  Their  segregation  or  supervision  is  also 
necessary.  Those  for  whom  treatment  or  supervision  is  not 
required  are  very  few  indeed.  The  prison  cases  I  have  classified 
from  the  point  of  view  of  recidivism,  as  follows  : 

Table  XXII 

1.  7  per  cent,  unlikely  to  become  recidivists. 

2.  43  per  cent,  if  psychologically  treated  may  not  become  recidivists. 

3.  13  per  cent,  will  become  recidivists  unless  treated  in  hospitals  or  asylums, 

permanent  or  otherwise. 

4.  37  per  cent,  will  inevitably  become  recidivists  unless  chrefully  and 

permanently  supervised  or  segregated. 


88 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  classify  the  preventive  and  rescue  subjects. 
One  cannot  foresee  to  what  end  their  asocial  behaviour  or  mal¬ 
adjustments  will  ultimately  lead. 

In  the  case  of  pilferers  of  the  pronounced  type  and  of  those 
of  irregular  sexual  habits.,  prison  is  probably  their  ultimate 
destination. 

There  were  55  per  cent,  psychological  cases  needing  treatment. 

The  mental  defectives  would,  naturally,  need  segregating. 

Of  the  rest,  the  subnormals,  little  can  be  said.  Their  sur¬ 
roundings  will  largely  determine  for  them  their  future.  I  have 
recommended  elsewhere,  however,  that  some  of  these  cases 
should  be  selected  for  psycho-analytical  treatment  for  the  purpose 
of  investigation  by  experiment. 

(2)  That  sentiment  development  is  lacking  in  a  great  number. 

Throughout  these  cases  a  very  remarkable  lack  of  sentiment 
development  is  present.  Whether  this  deficiency  be  constitu¬ 
tional  in  the  same  sense  as  defective  intelligence  may  be;  or 
whether  it  is  absent  because  of  lack  of  education  in  this  direction; 
or  whether  it  be  caused  by  psychological  maladjustment ;  or 
again,  is  only  relative  by  reason  of  a  far  greater  variation  of  this 
quality  between  social  classes  than  has  been  allowed  for,  can 
only  be  proved  by  experiment. 

If  tests  could  be  devised  comparable  with  the  tests  for 
mental  intelligence,  by  which  capacity  for  sentiment  develop¬ 
ment,  or  again,  sentiment  development  itself  could  be  standard¬ 
ized,  we  might  arrive  at  conclusions  parallel  with  those  of  the 
tests  for  mental  intelligence.  That  is  to  say,  we  should  be  able 
to  measure  sentiment  development,  but  nothing  more. 

In  order  to  arrive  at  the  real  assessment  of  the  capacity  for 
sentiment  development,  or  the  standard  of  sentiment  develop¬ 
ment,  we  should  have  to  note  the  following  results  of  treatment 
and  investigation : 

1.  Sentiment  development  before  and  after  intensive  social 

education. 

2.  Sentiment  development  before  and  after  psycho-analytical 

treatment. 

3.  The  average  sentiment  development  amongst  people  of 

the  same  class  from  which  these  subjects  have  been  drawn. 

It  is  evident  from  the  percentage  and  figures  quoted  for  inter¬ 
mediate  development  of  sentiment  and  for  normal  development 
of  sentiment  that  mental  conflict  begins  with  the  development  of 
sentiment. 

The  fact  that  there  is  mental  conflict  when  only  rudimentary 
sentiment  development  is  present  may  be  an  infallible  indication 
that  a  capacity  for  sentiment  development  is  latent  in  that 
subject,  and  that  there  are  already  indications  of  it  in  this 
development  of  conflict,  however  feeble.  After  all,  unresolved 
mental  conflict  means  a  disharmony  between  the  ego-ideal  and 
the  unconscious.  That  is,  there  is  an  ego-ideal. 

In  the  psychopathic  cases  (or  constitutional  inferiors,  which¬ 
ever  they  may  be  called)  it  is  assumed  that  the  defects  of  such 
subjects  are  innate.  Although  for  the  sake  of  classification  some 


SUMMARY  AND  PROPOSALS 


89 


subjects  are  classified  in  this  way,  without  an  exhaustive  study 
of  each  individual  case  from  the  various  aspects  given  above, 
one  cannot  make  a  final  diagnosis.  Education  directed  towards 
sentiment  development  begins,  or  should  begin,  very  early  in  a 
child’s  life.  But  does  the  child  get  this  education  in  the  case  of 
families  all  living  together  in  the  same  room,  where  unwanted 
babies  come  into  the  world  one  after  the  other?  The  develop¬ 
ment  of  sentiment  begins  in  the  cradle  when  the  child  is  first 
able  to  differentiate  between  itself  and  the  outer  world.  Gradually 
by  the  process  of  identification  and  incorporation  of  this  external 
world,  it  is  able  to  assimilate  as  its  own  ideals,  those,  first  of  the 
family,  and  then  of  society  in  general ;  and  by  so  doing  it 
increases  its  personality.  It  is  doubtful,  but  nevertheless  worth 
a  trial  to  see  if  what  has  been  lacking  in  the  early  training  of 
our  prison  and  Rescue  Home  subjects  can  be  acquired  later  through 
segregation  into  groups  under  a  system  of  self-government. 

Dr.  Aichorn’s  1  non-interference  policy  seemed  a  wise  one  in 
his  treatment  of  asocial  boys  entrusted  to  his  care.  He  allowed 
the  boys  to  find  out  experimentally  for  themselves  that  having 
their  own  way  with  no  thought  for  others  did  not  make  life  any 
happier  for  them.  They  learned  that,  however  desirable  pleasure 
may  be  in  life,  it  could  not  be  attained  by  their  methods.  ‘  We 
are  tired,’  they  said,  ‘  of  this  hooliganism.  It  does  not  satisfy  us. 
Let  us  be  ordinary  like  other  folk.  We  like  it  better  really  than 
being  dirty  and  destructive.  Perhaps  these  people  who  stand 
by,  but  never  interfere,  will  help  us  to  put  things  right  for 
ourselves.  We  are  not  happy  as  we  are.  We  need  not  fear  their 
help,  because  if  we  do  not  like  their  suggestions  they  will  not 
force  them  upon  us.’  And  so  the  individual  is  left  free  to 
assimilate  what  he  can  digest. 

(3)  The  large  percentage  of  homes  where  normal  family  love 
relationships  are  absent. 

The  importance  of  the  presence  of  a  love  influence  in  the  life 
of  the  young  child  is  without  question,  but  the  precise  effect  of 
its  absence  on  each  individual  child  must  be  different  in  every 
case.  The  presence  of  love  in  its  surroundings  helps  the  child 
to  relinquish  its  infantile  and  egoistic  ways  and  changes  self¬ 
centredness  into  object  relationships.  The  child  must  learn  to 
love  the  outer  world  before  he  can  adapt  himself  to  the  require¬ 
ments  of  the  outer  world. 

Children  brought  up  by  guardians,  illegitimate  children  farmed 
out,  as  well  as  children  brought  up  in  their  own  homes  where 
they  are  unwanted,  experience  little,  if  any,  of  what  we  under¬ 
stand  as  the  normal  love  of  the  parents  for  the  child. 

In  all  these  unfortunate  positions  the  child  has  to  give  way 
from  the  very  outset  to  the  needs  of  those  around  it,  instead  of 
the  external  world  paying  it  ‘  its  homage  and  due  ’. 

This  initial  and  most  important  stage  iu  the  child’s  develop¬ 
ment,  if  mismanaged,  inevitably  takes  its  toll. 

(4)  The  influence  of  heredity. 

The  influence  of  heredity  in  the  case  of  mentally  diseased 

1  Appendix  6,  Report  on  Prisons  and  Homes  on  the  Continent  in  1927,  p.  103. 


90 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

parents  will  not  be  disputed.  The  figures  here  are  so  small  as 
to  be  almost  negligible,  but  the  study  of  the  heredity  factor  in 
mental  disease  is  not  by  any  means  entirely  new  ground. 
Analytical  evidence  tends  to  prove  that  a  constitutional  psycho¬ 
logical  weakness  or  instability  can  be  passed  on  from  parent  to 
child,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  same  type  of  pathological 
psychology  will  necessarily  result. 

(5)  The  need  for  reconsidering  our  present  systems  for  dealing 
with  delinquents  and  maladapted  individuals.  This  subject  is 
dealt  with  under  the  heading  of  Suggestions  for  Treatment 
(v.  p.  92). 


B.  Proposals  for  Constructive  Policy. 

In  dealing  with  this  section  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the 
whole  question  from  a  wide  and  comprehensive  point  of  view. 
It  is  important  to  set  out  clearly,  what  the  aim  is  in  making 
a  constructive  policy ;  for  example,  from  what  standpoint  ought 
this  question  of  constructive  policy  to  be  attacked.  We  can  deal 
with  the  whole  question  from  the  point  of  view  of  amassing 
scientific  data,  or  we  can  deal  with  it  as  a  section  belonging  to 
preventive  medicine,  or,  again,  we  can  treat  the  subject  from  the 
aspect  of  social  reform.  But  it  is  my  intention  to  bring  in  all 
three  aspects  in  dealing  with  the  matter,  seeking  a  policy  which, 
in  giving  full  weight  to  all  these  various  needs,  shall  combine 
them  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  the  best  result.  From  the 
social  aspect  and  from  the  point  of  view  of  scientific  accomplish¬ 
ment,  a  preventive  attitude  of  mind  is  required.  Up  to  the 
present,  it  seems  to  me  that  too  much  stress  has  been  laid  upon 
the  diagnosis  of  mental  defectiveness,  with  a  view  to  transferring 
this  type  of  individual  from  prison  to  some  other  institution. 
While  it  is  necessary  to  recognize  that  degree  of  mental  defect 
which  by  transmission  to  offspring  is  ultimately  a  menace  to 
society  and  must  indeed  be  held  under  strict  supervision,  yet, 
to  my  mind,  it  is  of  equal  importance,  perhaps  even  greater 
importance,  to  concentrate  attention  on  those  persons  who  are 
potentially  useful  citizens.  It  is  of  as  great  importance  from  the 
social  standpoint  that,  let  us  say,  a  valuable  citizen,  with  an 
unfortunate  weakness  for  brawling  under  the  influence  of  a 
moderate  amount  of  alcohol,  should  be  set  right  as  that  an  ament 
or  mental  defective  should  be  transferred  from  prison  to  an 
institution,  or  be  supervised  outside  an  institution.  In  other 
words,  the  fields  of  both  social  and  scientific  interest  coincide  in 
the  study  of  these  people  just  as  much  as  in  the  mentally 
defective  group.  Another  point  I  am  going  to  stress  from  the 
preventive  aspect  is  that  the  earlier  young  delinquents  are 
studied  the  better  ultimately  for  the  public  purse.  The  so-called 
criminal  is  not  a  person  who  suddenly  crystallizes  out  as  a 
criminal.  His  asocial  behaviour  is  traceable  back  to  his  child¬ 
hood  days.  What  is  needed  is  education  of  the  public  to  realize 
that  sudden  changes  in  a  child's  character  are  as  much  an 
indication  of  something  wrong  as  a  feverish  attack.  Most 


SUMMARY  AND  PROPOSALS 


91 


parents  get  alarmed  and  send  for  the  doctor  when  their  child 
has  a  temperature,  a  shivering  fit,  or  if  its  bowels  do  not  work ; 
but  few  parents  as  yet  realize  the  dire  consequences  of  neglecting 
such  troubles  as  a  child’s  sudden  passion  for  stealing  odds  and 
ends,  or  an  outbreak  of  screaming  fits,  or  an  outbreak  of  destruc¬ 
tive  behaviour.  Parents  are  apt  to  treat  this  as  childish  naughti¬ 
ness  which  the  child  will  grow  out  of.  They  hope  on  and  on 
that  a  change  will  come  in  the  child’s  character.  And  they 
become  alarmed  only  when  complaints  begin  to  come  in  from 
the  police,  and  then  seem  utterly  at  sea  what  to  do  about  it,  and 
perhaps  try  their  blundering  best  in  endeavouring  to  ‘  thrash  the 
devil  out  of  it  ’. 

In  summing  up,  the  points  here  demonstrated  are : 

1.  Education  of  the  parent  to  realize  the  indications  or 
symptoms  of  a  mentally  sick  child. 

2.  The  concentration  of  investigation  of  the  potentially 
most  valuable  human  beings.  (The  potentially  least  valuable 
are  already  far  more  studied  and  catered  for  than  these  others.) 
Looking  at  the  mass  of  material  (200  cases)  from  the  economic 
point  of  view,  one  is  struck  by  the  appalling  wastage  that  is 
here  found. 

This  wastage  I  should  classify  under  three  headings.  The  first 
will  appeal  to  all  whom  it  touches ;  the  second  to  the  scientific 
world  ;  and  the  third,  let  us  hope,  to  most  of  intelligent  mankind. 
They  are  as  follows  : 

1.  The  waste  of  public  money. 

2.  The  waste  of  scientific  material. 

3.  The  waste  of  human  material. 

Prisons  and  Institutions  cost  the  public  dearly.  Statistics 
show  that  the  cost  per  head  per  imprisonment,  regardless 
of  period,  that  is  to  say,  whether  the  period  is  seven  days  or 
seven  months,  averages  out  at  just  under  £60  per  head.  An 
enormous  personnel  is  maintained  to  bring  and  keep  these 
unfortunate  humans  under  lock  and  key  (Police,  Courts,  Black 
Maria,  &c.).  Obviously  this  enormous  expenditure  would  be 
reduced  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  individuals  that  could  be 
salved. 

The  wastage  of  scientific  material  is  obvious.  I  have  shown 
this  in  the  few  cases  I  have  written  out  in  extenso.  We  shall 
learn  much  about  human  nature,  and  therefore  about  ourselves, 
by  psychological  analysis  of  delinquents. 

Clearly,  for  every  human  that  we  can  put  back,  or  rather  do 
not  take  away  from  work  and  shut  up  in  institutions,  at  least, 
in  so  far  as  he  or  she  is  a  wage  earner,  to  that  extent  the  public 
is  benefited  and  in  pocket.  The  human  waste  caused  by  neglecting 
to  use  all  our  scientific  resources  cannot  be  estimated.  Only 
careful  scientific  research  and  treatment  will  give  us  an  answer 
as  to  how  many  of  these  unfortunate  individuals  are  potentially 
useful  citizens. 


92  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

C.  Suggestions  eor  Treatment. 

Arising  out  of  consideration  of  the  foregoing  material,  four 
methods  of  dealing  with  the  offenders  suggest  themselves  : 

1.  Segregation:  (a)  Permanent ;  (b)  Temporary. 

2.  Permanent  supervision  without  loss  of  freedom. 

3.  Education. 

4.  Psychotherapy. 

Those  coming  under  headings  1  and  2  would,  ipso  facto,  be 
incurable  from  the  point  of  view  of  making  of  them  normal 
social  units,  but  the  treatment  would  render  them  innocuous  to 
their  fellows,  or,  as  nearly  so  in  the  case  of  those  in  Class  2  as  to 
render  them  tolerable. 

Those  coming  under  headings  3  and  4  are  questionably 
remediable,  but,  until  tested  by  these  methods,  should  not  be 
relegated  to  Classes  1  and  2. 

Class  1.  In  this  case  would  be  found  : 

(a)  Mental  deficients  and  subnormals  of  the  truculent  type. 

(b)  Those  suffering  from  the  psychoses. 

(c)  Failures  from  Classes  3  and  4. 

(a)  Mental  defectives  are  of  two  types : 

(i)  The  truculent,  turbulent,  vicious  and  uninhibited  type. 

(ii)  The  quiet,  gentle,  willing  to  please  and  drifting  type. 

The  first  of  these  will  never  become  amenable  to  society’s 

demands.  They  will  be  perpetually  antisocial  whatever  the 
form  of  outside  supervision  that  might  be  devised.  Their  acts 
are  instinctive  and  aggressive,  and  are  not,  as  a  rule,  confined  to 
one  form  of  law  breaking.  Violence,  pilfering,  immorality,  and 
drunkenness  are  the  usual  misdemeanours,  and  it  would  be 
impossible  without  permanent  segregation  to  prevent  them  being 
a  scourge  to  society.  Each  case  should  be  judged  from  its 
individual  history.  In  all  mental  deficients  and  gross  sub¬ 
normals,  the  type  of  crime  and  frequency  of  criminal  acts  must 
be  considered ;  and  there  will  always  be  a  certain  proportion  of 
these  cases  passing  over  from  one  form  of  treatment  to  another 
whenever  necessary,  e.g.  some  tried  under  permanent  super¬ 
vision  might  in  time  be  found  to  be  better  placed  in  the  class 
for  those  permanently  segregated. 

(b)  Those  suffering  from  the  psychoses.  That  those  suffering 
from  the  psychoses  of  a  certain  intensity  need  either  permanent 
or  temporary  segregation  is  obvious,  but,  undoubtedly,  there  are 
many  who  are  dangerous  to  others,  but  who,  as  conditions  stand 
at  present,  are  not  certifiable.  What  we  need  is  legal  recognition 
of  these  cases.  Incipient  dementia  praecox,  cyclothymic  cases 
and  those  with  paranoid  reactions  are  mentally  sick  persons  and 
need  hospital  treatment  both  for  their  own  sakes  and  for  the 
protection  of  others.  If  there  were  legal  recognition  of  these 
conditions  many  murders  might  be  prevented.1  The  burglar  of 
the  violent  type  so  frequently  ends  up  in  murder.  Yet  we  treat 
him  as  a  mentally  stable  individual,  who  will  react  in  a  normal 
way  to  correction  by  refraining  from  committing  the  same  act 

1  Cf.  tlie  well-known  cases  of  Brown  and  Kennedy ;  and  Mnjoram. 


SUMMARY  AND  PROPOSALS 


93 


again.  We  let  him  in  and  out  of  prison,  to  prey  upon  the  public 
until  he  kills  some  one,  and  then  we  hang  him !  Legal  recogni¬ 
tion  of  these  conditions  would  mean  that  every  recidivist,  without 
exception,  would,  as  a  routine,  be  handed  over  for  a  full  medical 
examination,  physical  and  mental.  That  we  are  capable  of  such 
folly  as  illustrated  above,  calls  for  an  investigation  into  the 
motives  at  work  in  our  own  unconscious,  for,  certainly,  our 
behaviour  is  not  rational.  What  we  need  to  ask  ourselves  is 
why,  if  punishment  is  not  successful  as  a  deterrent,  do  we  repeat 
it  ?  Why  is  punishment,  per  se,  of  such  importance  to  us  ?  The 
wish  to  punish  can  come  from  several  sources: 

1.  There  may  be  an  unconscious  wish  to  revenge. 

2.  It  can  act  as  a  means  of  defence  :  ‘  If  others  can  do  these 
things  with  impunity  then  why  not  I  ?  ’  The  defence  is  against 
our  own  weakness. 

3.  It  offers  an  outlet  in  a  direct  manner  for  our  instinctive 
sadism,  that  is,  to  mould  by  force. 

(c)  Failures  from  Classes  3  and  4.  These  would  naturally 
pass  over  to  the  permanently  segregated  or  supervised. 

Class  2.  This  class  also  will  be  composed  mainly  of : 

{a)  The  mentally  defective  and  subnormals  who  are  almost 
mentally  deficient. 

( b )  Failures  from  Classes  3  and  4. 

(a)  This  type  of  mental  deficient  is  the  opposite  of  the  truculent 
type  mentioned  above.  Their  chief  danger  lies  in  their  sub¬ 
missive  disposition.  They  are  quiet,  gentle,  willing  to  please, 
and  respond  to  every  suggestion  of  conduct  that  is  desired  of 
them.  Here  a  permanent  supervision  outside,  which  protects 
the  individual  from  harmful  external  stimuli,  will  be  sufficient. 
In  other  words,  the  environment,  if  carefully  chosen  and  available, 
will  render  the  subject  innocuous  to  society.  Moreover,  since 
the  submissive  type  are  peculiarly  subject  to  prostitution,  or  more 
simply,  to  acts  of  indecency  resulting  in  numerous  pregnancies, 
the  question  of  sterilization  arises.  The  decision  here  lies 
between  permanent  segregation  on  the  one  hand,  and  sterilization 
with  freedom  on  the  other  hand.  The  other  factor,  which  holds 
good  in  all  these  propositions  for  consideration,  is  that  of  expense 
to  the  State.  This  economic  factor,  although  of  great  importance, 
is  outside  the  theme  of  this  report,  and,  therefore,  will  not  be 
elaborated  here. 

Class  3.  Education.  In  this  class  should  be  placed,  as  an 
experiment,  nearly  all  in  the  adapted  group  where  intelligence 
is  normal,  and  the  character  not  vicious:  where  sentiment 
formation  has  been  slight,  and  where  stimulation  towards  senti¬ 
ment  development  has  been  lacking  in  the  upbringing.  For 
them  there  should  be  devised  a  special  system  of  individual 
training  and  education.  Whether  they  should  be  trained  in 
groups  under  a  system  of  self  government  or  singly  in  charge 
of  specially  trained  women  is  at  present  undecided.  Both 
methods  should  be  tried.  The  individuals  chosen  for  the  work 
should  be  selected  on  scientific  rather  than  on  sentimental 
grounds.  A  large  proportion  of  these  offenders  and  maladjusted 


94 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

persons  would  then  have  a  reasonable  chance  of  being  reclaimed 
permanently  as  useful  citizens.  By  education  is  meant  education 
in  social  life,  as  apart  from  education  in  branches  of  work  or  in 
the  study  of  ‘  lessons  ’.  These  young  people  are  unable  to  find 
pleasure  in  the  usual  channels.  They  lack  aim  and  object  in 
their  lives.  They  drift  from  pillar  to  post.  There  is  no  centrali¬ 
zation  of  their  energies  towards  accomplishment  in  any  one 
direction.  They  are  highly  distractible,  largely  because  of  this 
lack  of  centralized  interest.  Since  directly  or  indirectly  all 
accomplishments  in  life  are  brought  about  ultimately  through 
the  interaction  of  loving  and  being  loved,  the  inhibition  of  this 
capacity,  either  in  its  active  or  passive  form,  is  bound  to  react 
detrimentally  both  on  the  individual  and  on  society  as  a  whole. 
One  of  the  qualifications,  therefore,  of  those  who  have  the 
educational  side  of  these  young  people  in  their  hands,  must  lie  in 
the  degree  of  the  freedom  within  them  of  the  capacity  to  love. 
It  might  sound  an  easy  enough  matter  to  acquire  such  individuals 
as  guardians  for  these  girls,  but  self-investigation  leads  to  the 
discovery  of  how  little  freedom  in  this  respect  the  majority  of 
us  have. 

In  the  case  of  impulsive  characters,  the  sympathy  and  under¬ 
standing  of  such  guardians  would  be  undoubtedly  helpful  to 
these  young  people  until  they  became  stabilized  ;  that  is  to  say, 
until  the  acme  in  the  stage  of  adolescent  increase  of  sexual 
energy  had  been  passed,  and  the  young  person  had  had  time  to 
adjust  herself  to  the  use  of  her  increased  energies.  At  puberty 
such  a  girl  is  conscious  of  increased  tension  and  unrest,  which 
she  cannot  explain.  Suddenly  without  any  reason  she  becomes 
‘fed  up’  and  must  do  something  immediately.  The  tension 
urgently  demands  relief,  and  action  alone  can  provide  it. 
Naturally,  whatever  opportunity  presents  itself  at  the  moment 
will  be  seized  and  acted  upon  without  reflection. 

Now  if  at  this  stage  of  excess  of  tension  these  young  people 
are  shut  up  together  indiscriminately,  and  by  loss  of  freedom 
are  thrown  on  their  own  resources  to  devise  distraction  within 
the  scope  of  the  restrictions  under  which  they  are  living,  they 
will  inevitably  pool  their  knowledge  in  the  ways  and  means  of 
asocial  and  criminal  behaviour.  At  the  moment  and  under 
these  conditions  the  assimilating  power  of  the  individual  in 
absorbing  instruction  of  this  kind  is  at  its  height.  Thus  prisons 
are  in  danger  of  becoming  intensive  training  centres  for  asocial 
and  criminal  behaviour.  Moreover,  there  will  be  waiting  for 
them,  when  they  come  out  into  the  world  once  more,  a  ready¬ 
made  clique  or  society  of  the  same  kind  as  that  in  which  they 
have  been  living  in  these  institutions.  The  same  considerations 
in  differing  degrees  apply  to  Homes  that  receive  girls  for  long 
periods. 

In  the  inhibited  cases  the  girls  need  to  be  encouraged.  In 
the  rebellious  cases  they  need  to  be  soothed,  and  in  the  case  of 
the  girls  overridden  by  sexual  desires,  outlets  for  their  over¬ 
powering  energies  must  be  supplied.  While  retaining  their 
liberty,  they  acquire  friends  who  understand  them,  and  who  are 


SUMMARY  AND  PROPOSALS 


95 


able  by  their  greater  wisdom  to  help  them,  both  directly  and 
indirectly;  and  there  is  a  reasonable  chance  that  in  this  way 
they  will  pass  over  successfully  the  stage  of  adolescence  to  the 
mature  stage  of  the  adult,  when  the  sexual  inrush  has  become 
once  more  equilibrated  with  the  personality. 

The  great  mistake  of  the  present  penal  sj^stem  is  that  it  is 
neither  deterrent  nor  reformative.  The  prison  routine  is  too 
easy  and  pleasant  to  act  as  a  deterrent.  The  efforts  at  reform 
under  these  conditions  are  rendered  nugatory  largely  because 

(1)  the  staff  is  not  selected  for  the  purpose  of  scientific 
reform  ; 

(2)  education  at  the  same  time  as  punishment  is  an  anomaly, 
as  the  education  is  of  necessity  taken  as  part  of  the  punish¬ 
ment.  Education  means  a  drawing  out  of  the  mind,  and  the 
mind  under  these  conditions  is  closed  against  the  teacher.  In 
all  cases  where  resentment  is  a  prevailing  affect  or  mood,  it  is 
unreasonable  to  expect  that  that  state  can  be  changed  at  all 
throughout  a  period  of  punishment ; 

(3)  mere  sentimentality,  when  this  is  the  means  of  help 
offered,  is  worse  than  useless  in  that  it  raises  in  the  subjects 
a  sense  of  self-pity  instead  of  a  sense  of  responsibility  ; 

(4)  the  placing  together  of  these  girls  is  to  give  them  a 
university  training  in  crime,  and  this  is  the  worst  feature  of 
all  (v.  p.  94).  It  is  true  that  in  the  case  of  Homes  and 
Institutions  the  conditions  are  modified  ;  but,  nevertheless, 
the  punishment  motif  is  present.  The  girls  are  there  because 
they  are  ‘naughty’  or  troublesome.  The  one  exception  to 
the  ‘naughty’  girl  is  the  one  who  is  sent  in  from  a  bad  home 
or  from  the  guardians. 

I  have  remarked  upon  the  large  percentage  of  subnormal 
girls  in  these  Homes.  They  are,  usually,  abnormally  passive 
to  the  happenings  in  their  lives.  They  are  colourless,  as  their 
surroundings  are  colourless.  This  type  of  girl  is  likely  to  take 
on  the  colour  of  her  surroundings  later  when  she  is  thrust  out 
upon  the  world.  If  they  are  satisfactory,  well  and  good,  but 
if  not,  she  will  drift  into  whatever  the  bad  influence  may  be 
that  surrounds  her. 

But  this  passivity  is  demanded  of  her  from  an  early  age, 
since  her  life  has  been  spent  in  institutions  from  an  early  age. 
Adaptation,  often  more  apparent  than  real,  is  always  at  a  price, 
and  the  price  sometimes  is  very  heavy.  Extreme  passivity, 
though  very  excellent  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  authorities, 
since  it  aids  the  even  running  of  an  establishment,  is  neverthe¬ 
less  indicative  of  the  stifling  of  all  natural  functioning.  Where 
inhibition  is  extreme,  it  would  not  be  surprising  to  find  sub¬ 
normal  intelligence.  Activity  of  mind  is  naturally  accom¬ 
panied  by  activity  of  body,  but  if  the  activity  of  body  is 
continually  checked  the  activity  of  the  mind  is  apt  to  suffer 
also.  It  must  find  an  outlet  somewhere.  Fantasy  is  an  easily 
attained  outlet  since  no  external  influence  can  seriously 
interfere  with  that.  And  the  figures  for  fantasy  in  this 
group  are,  as  we  should  expect,  high. 


96 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

In  other  cases,  a  violent  suppression  of  activity  may  be 
accompanied  by  refusal  to  think.  Fantasy  will  proceed,  as 
before,  but  now  unconsciously  ;  and  the  net  result  will  be  the 
same  in  both  cases,  viz.  an  apparent  lack  of  intelligence.  The 
mind  is  absorbed  elsewhere,  and  cannot  be  brought  to  focus 
full  attention  on  external  considerations.  The  inhibited, 
repressed  type  of  girl  will  invariably  be  suggestible  to 
parental,  or  substitute  parental,  influence.  This  will  be  shown 
by  an  extreme  degree  of  passivity  or  negativism.  Institutional 
life  is  not  responsible  for  original  repressions,  but  it  is  certainly 
responsible  for  augmenting  such  conflicts  as  exist,  and  this  is 
brought  about  by  forcing  on  the  girl  a  life  moulded  to  a  pattern 
to  which  the  authorities  feel  she  should  conform,  instead  of 
allowing  her  freedom  to  work  out  the  one  to  which  she  herself 
can  conform.  In  so  far  as  an  individual  is  encouraged  to 
express  himself  or  herself  along  individual  lines,  so  will  he  or 
she  become  independent.  Now  institutional  life  seems  almost 
invariably  to  militate  against  the  development  of  healthy 
independence. 

Failures  from  this  class  would,  after  due  trial,  be  placed  in 
Class  (a). 

Class  4.  This  class  will  include  all  those  suffering  from  mental 
conflict,  epilepsy,  and  those  who  display  psychotic  tendencies 
before  any  definite  psychosis  has  developed. 

The  subjects  should  be  investigated  very  fully  psychologically. 
The  investigator  would  then  be  in  a  position  to  advise : 

1.  A  specialized  environment,  educative  or  otherwise. 

2.  Suggestion,  direct  or  indirect. 

3%  Psycho-analytic  treatment.  Of  cases  recorded  there  are 
about  19  per  cent,  in  which  the  use  of  this  treatment  is  indi¬ 
cated.  A  month  or  six  weeks’  trial  would  enable  the  analyst 
to  know  if  it  was  worth  while  proceeding  with  the  analysis  or 
not.  A  psycho-analytic  understanding  of  the  offender  should, 
in  any  case,  put  the  investigator  in  possession  of  the  key  to 
the  subject’s  psychology ;  and  then,  since  every  one  is  not 
suitable  for  analysis,  other  treatment  would  be  advised.  It 
should  be  possible  from  the  knowledge  so  gained  to  find  a  way 
of  meeting  the  subject’s  psychological  needs  and  at  the  same 
time  the  demands  of  society.  Many  improvements  in  machinery 
are  brought  about  by  the  adaptation  of  an  existing  part  to 
another  part.  In  other  words,  let  the  best  be  made  of  the 
material  that  is  there  to  hand.  People  have  lived  in  dwellings 
made  of  petrol  tins.  In  this  way  petrol  tins  are  more  useful 
than  on  the  dust  heap,  and  the  man  who  makes  this  ‘  work  of 
art  ’  is  very  proud  of  his  production  and  does  not  sit  down 
and  cry  because  it  is  not  a  palace.  So,  surely,  society  should 
be  content  if  a  system  were  devised  in  which  the  offender  is 
dealt  with  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  the  best  possible  of  him. 
If,  finally,  after  full  study  and  treatment  he  is  relegated  to 
Class  1  or  2,  at  least  the  community  would  have  the  satisfac¬ 
tion  of  knowing  that  all  that  could  be  done  had  been  done. 
Even  in  Class  1  it  should  be  possible  to  make  most  offenders, 


SUMMARY  AND  PROPOSALS 


97 


partly  if  not  wholly,  self-supporting;  and  by  means  of  this, 
more  happily  adapted  both  internally  and  externally.  Whereas, 
as  it  is  at  present,  society  pays  heavily,  not  only  intermittently 
for  their  support,  but  also  for  their  depredations ;  the  cost 
of  the  maintenance  of  the  personnel  of  an  elaborate  system  ; 
for  repeated  court  scenes  and  imprisonments ;  for  hospital 
treatment  when  diseased ;  for  damages  to  property  and 
persons  ;  and  lastly — and  more  important  than  every  other 
consideration — for  the  infection  which  is  spread  in  the  know¬ 
ledge  of  the  ways  and  means  of  crime. 

In  order  to  carry  out  the  suggestions  for  treatment  mentioned 
above  there  are  two  methods  which  commend  themselves  to  me, 
both  of  which  are  practicable  in  that  they  can  be  utilized  in¬ 
dependently  of,  and  concurrently  with,  the  present  system,  and 
that  they  can  be  started  in  a  small  way.  The  two  suggested 
methods  are  that  there  should  be  established : 

1.  A  central  clearing  station  sj^stem. 

2.  Small  laboratories. 

1.  The  central  clearing  station  system.  This  should  be  formed 
on  the  lines  of  an  infectious  hospital.  The  patients  would  be 
sent  in,  be  fully  investigated  physically  and  psychologically,  and 
treatment  allocated.  This  would  be  done  as  quickly  as  reasonably 
possible.  All  contact  between  patients  in  the  central  block 
would  be  strictly  regulated.  The  idea  of  the  system  is  set  out 
diagrammatically  on  p.  98. 

It  would  not  be  reasonable  to  suggest  that  such  a  system  could 
replace  the  penal  system  all  at  once.  It  is  possible,  however, 
that  the  plans  suggested  could  be  started  as  an  experiment,  and 
the  details  of  its  working  must  be  in  accordance  with  the  premise 
that  crime  is  a  symptom  of  underlying  defect  or  disease.  This 
theory,  which  is  supported  by  the  findings  of  this  report,  is  also 
held  by  many  eminent  authorities,  e.g.  Hamblin  Smith,  William 
Healy,  and  others. 

The  buildings  used  should  have  no  connexion  whatever  with 
the  present  established  penal  system,  and  should  be  in  no  way 
designated  by  the  word  ‘  penal  ’.  None  of  the  buildings  once  used, 
and  therefore  labelled  for  all  time  as  prisons,  should  be  used  in 
this  scheme. 

It  would  be  worse  than  useless  to  vitiate  a  new  system  by 
bringing  over  from  the  old  prisons  its  diseased-beyond-cure 
inmates.  Nor  would  it  be  advisable  to  bring  in  any  who  had 
been  previously  in  prison,  for  they  would  bring  with  them  all 
the  knowledge  of  the  ways  and  means  of  crime,  which  informa¬ 
tion  they  would  inevitably  pass  on.  Although  this  is  a  system 
to  deal  with  crime,  the  buildings  should  be  called  hospitals  and 
not  prisons,  since  the  object  will  be  to  eradicate  crime  by  curing 
through  psychological  treatment  and  other  measures  the  under¬ 
lying  psychological  maladjustments  and  defects  ;  whereas,  in  the 
case  of  prisons,  the  object  is  eradiction  of  crime  by  means  of 
punishment. 

Every  offender  should  be  sent  in  for  investigation  at  the  time 
of  his  first  offence.  Since  the  place  will  be  called  a  hospital  and 
lt63  G 


98 


PSYCHOLOGY  OP  DELINQUENCY 

not  a  prison  there  will  be  no  stigma  attached.  Probation,  as 
I  have  already  shown,  is  unreliable  in  its  results,  and  it  has  some 
serious  drawbacks. 

2.  Small  laboratories.  Research  into  the  value  of  the  various 
methods  of  treatment  is  not  only  important  but  necessary,  if  any 


progress  is  to  be  made.  To  meet  this  need,  individuals  should 
be  chosen  to  deal  with  small  numbers — for  example,  six  or  eight 
persons  at  one  time — and  to  these  research  workers  should  be 
given  the  power  and  means  to  make  the  investigation  in  accor¬ 
dance  with  their  own  ideas  and  plans.  In  fact,  there  should  be 
instituted  a  number  of  small  laboratories  where  the  investigators 
represent  the  several  different  schools  of  psychology  as  they  exist 
to-day.  Those  in  charge  should  be  given  hunting  grounds  from 
which  they  may  select  their  cases,  and  the  subjects  chosen  should, 
from  that  time  onward's,  come  under  the  sole  guardianship  of  the 
investigator.  One  might  prefer  to  conduct  the  experimental 
treatment  of  the  subject  in  his  normal  environment;  while 
another  might  wish  to  make  some  change  in  that  environment, 
although  allowing  the  subject  to  carry  on  his  normal  occupation 
at  the  same  time.  Some  would,  doubtless,  wish  to  place  the 
subjects  for  treatment  under  entirely  new  conditions.  Whatever 
the  investigator  requires  for  his  experiment  must  be  at  his 
disposal.  All  such  work  at  the  present  time  is  crippled  by 


SUMMARY  AND  PROPOSALS 


99 


interference  in  the  experimental  method.  No  one  would  think 
of  saying  to  a  physiologist,  ‘  You  may  do  this  and  that,  but  you 
must  not  use  this  drug  or  that  method  in  testing  the  functions 
of  a  nerve  ’ ;  yet  that  is  what  happens,  and  must  necessarily 
happen,  under  present  conditions  in  dealing  with  delinquents. 

A  considerable  period  should  be  expected  to  elapse  before  any 
appreciable  results  could  be  shown,  but  the  expense  of  work 
begun  on  so  small  a  scale  as  I  have  indicated  would  be  so 
moderate  that  there  would  be  little  call  for  protest  in  this 
direction.  By  this  method  we  should  discover  the  actual  value, 
as  judged  by  results,  of  each  individual  school  of  psychology.  We 
might  find,  for  instance,  that  one  school  obtained  good  results 
with  one  type  of  case,  and  another  school  with  another  type, 
while  perhaps  yet  another  school  might  not  produce  any  satis¬ 
factory  results  at  all. 

Both  the  central  clearing  station  scheme  and  the  establishment 
of  small  laboratories  should  be  carried  out  concurrently.  They 
in  no  way  overlap  each  other.  The  scientific  data  obtained 
from  the  results  of  work  in  these  small  laboratories  could  be 
made  use  of  by  the  administrators  of  the  Central  Clearing  [Station, 
and  of  Prisons  and  Institutions  alike. 

There  is  a  gradually  increasing  demand,  both  on  the  part  of 
the  public  and  of  heads  of  Institutions,  for  suggestions  with 
regard  to  treatment,  and  results  attained  in  this  completely 
independent  way  could  be  assimilated  and  applied  by  the  heads 
of  these  Institutions  in  so  far  as  each  is  able. 

In  conclusion  let  me  say  that,  although  it  may  appear  that  the 
biological  consideration  of  the  offender  has  been  exceeded,  and 
that  the  realms  of  sociology  have  been  trespassed  upon  in  this 
report,  such,  indeed,  is  not  the  case.  The  premise  is  that 
criminals  and  asocial  persons  are  not  a  class  as  such,  but  indivi¬ 
duals  suffering  from  psychological  illness  or  defects,  and  therefore 
in  the  application  of  psychotherapy  social  changes  in  environment 
may  be  of  necessity  insisted  upon.  Where  society’s  demands 
have  been  set  out,  it  has  been  for  the  purpose  of  emphasizing 
a  norm,  serious  deviation  from  which  is  an  indication  of  deficient 
adaptation  capacity  on  the  part  of  the  individual  to  his  surround¬ 
ings,  and,  therefore,  of  a  biological  deficiency. 


SECTION  VII.  APPENDICES. 
Appendix  1.  Analysis  of  Crimes.  (Prison  Cases.) 


Prostitution : 

Prostitution  alone 
Prostitution  and  drunkenness  . 
Prostitution  and  larceny 
Prostitution,  larceny  and  drunkenness 


cases 


7 

1 


8 


/ 


Larceny : 

Larceny  alone  . 

Larceny  and  prostitution 
Larceny  and  drunkenness 


40 

7 


a  2 


100 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 


Larceny,  prostitution  and  drunkenness  .  1 

Larceny  and  bigamy  .  .  .  .  1 

Larceny  and  attempted  suicide  .  .  1 

Larceny  and  vagrancy  .  .  .3 

Larceny  and  assault  .  .  2 

Drunkenness : 

Drunkenness  alone  ....  8 

Drunkenness  and  prostitution  .  .  .7 

Drunkenness  and  larceny  .  .  .2 

Drunkenness,  prostitution,  and  larceny  .  1 

Drunkenness  and  vagrancy  .  .  .1 

Vagrancy  : 

Vagrancy  alone  .  .  .  .4 

Vagrancy  and  larceny .  .  .  .3 

Vagrancy  and  drunkenness  .  .  .1 

Attempted  Suicide : 

Attempted  suicide  alone  .  .  1 

Attempted  suicide  and  larceny  .  .  1 

Other  Offences : 

Infanticide  .  ....  2 

Neglect  of  child  .  .  .  .4 

Obtaining  goods  by  false  pretences  .  .  2 

Attempted  murder  .  .  .  1 

Manslaughter  .  .  .  .  .  1 

Wilful  damage .  .  .  .  1 

Assault  ......  1 


From  the  above  figures  it  will  be  seen  that  there  are  73  cases 
in  which  one  type  of  crime  is  committed,  and  23  cases  in  which 
multiple  types  of  crimes  are  committed. 

Of  the  single  type  of  crime  we  find  56  out  of  the  75  cases  are 
either  that  of  prostitution,  larceny,  or  drunkenness.  In  the 
27  cases  of  multiple  crimes  we  find  27  (i.e.  100%)  in  which  one  or 
more  of  the  three  crimes — prostitution, larceny, and  drunkenness — 
are  present.  That  is  to  say,  that  in  the  hundred  cases  investigated 
we  have  83  cases  where  the  crime  has  been  one  of  these  three. 
It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  further  inquiry  needs  to  be  focussed  on 
these  three  crimes.  It  is  probable  that  there  will  be  found 
connecting  links  other  than  mere  chance  between  them.  The 
question  arises  whether  there  are  any  salient  differences  between 
the  onset  of  the  crimes,  when  kept  to  type  and  simple,  and  the 
onset  of  the  multiple  type.  It  is  noticeable  that  34  out  of  the 
56  cases  mentioned  above  were  suffering  from  manifest  mental 
conflict. 

Appendix  2.  Analysis  op  the  Physical  Health  op  Offendep.s. 

(. Prison  Cases.) 

cases 

Healthy  .  .  .  .  .85 

Diseased  .  .  .  .  .15 

In  the  85  cases  termed  healthy  there  were  12  showing  certain 


APPENDICES  101 

disabilities  or  defects,  which  were  judged  to  be  of  minor  im¬ 
portance  only. 

They  were  made  up  as  follows  :  cases 

Congenital  defects  .  .  .  .4 

Anaemia  or  menstrual  irregularities  .  .  6 

Ovary  removed  .....  1 

Thyroid  enlarged  .  .  .  .1 


In  summing  up,  it  seems  as  if  disease  alone  has  very  little  to 
do  in  causing  delinquency,  since  there  are  only  15  cases  in  which 
disease  has  been  judged  to  be  of  sufficient  importance  to  have 
had  any  effect  in  the  causation  of  crime,  and  even  then  not  as  a 
primary  but  as  a  secondary  factor. 


Appendix  3.  Analysis  of  Home  Conditions.  ( Prison  Cases.) 


cases 

Vicious  homes  .  .  .  28) 

Unsatisfactory  homes  .  .  27 }  00  cases' 

Satisfactory  homes  .  .  .45 


Under  the  term  vicious  are  placed  homes  in  which  one  or 
both  parents  or  guardians  drink,  or  live  sexually  loose  lives,  and 
knock  about  or  neglect  the  children.  Unsatisfactory  homes  are 
those  in  which  the  parents  or  guardians  either  spoil  the  children 
or  allow  them  to  run  wild,  or  where  the  influence  of  the  parents 
or  guardians  is  judged  to  be  bad.  In  the  satisfactory  homes  the 
home  conditions  are  favourable  ;  there  are  no  outstanding  condi¬ 
tions  in  the  home  life  of  the  children  that  are  not  inevitable  in 
any  family  life. 

It  might  be  assumed  that  abnormal  behaviour  would  not  be 
surprising  in  the  case  of  children  brought  up  in  vicious  or 
unsatisfactory  homes,  but  when  we  come  to  the  case  of  those 
brought  up  in  satisfactory  homes  the  home  conditions  cannot 
be  looked  upon  as  causes  contributory  to  the  asocial  behaviour. 
Therefore,  it  is  of  interest  to  give  an  analysis  of  these  cases  in  the 
table  below : 


Manifest  mental  conflict 

cases 

.  26 

Psychotic  .... 

4 

Psychopathic  .... 

1 

Mentally  defective 

.  4 

Subnormal  intelligence  and  defective 

senti- 

ment  development 

2 

Defective  sentiment  development 

.  3 

Accidental  .... 

.  5 

That  is,  40  out  of  the  45  subjects  examined  showed  psychological 
defect  or  disease. 

102 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 


Appendix  4.  Analysis  of  Prevailing  Affects  and  Moods, 

( Prison  Cases.) 

As  we  should  expect,  these  are  very  variable.  In  only  38  per 
cent,  was  there  any  sense  of  shame  elicited.  In  26  per  cent, 
self-pity  was  pronounced.  In  19  per  cent,  anger,  resentment, 
and  sullenness  were  present.  In  14  per  cent,  the  mood  was  that 
of  deep  depression.  In  15  per  cent,  there  was  a  marked  degree 
of  suspicion,  which  was  not  entirely  removed  during  the  inter¬ 
views.  In  50  per  cent,  the  subjects  were  either  happy  and 
contented  or  slightly  anxious.  The  large  class  of  adapted  would 
naturally  come  into  this  group. 

Emotional  mobility.  There  were  20  per  cent,  immobile,  14  per 
cent.  + ,  and  66  per  cent,  whose  mobility  was  averagely  elastic. 

The  20  cases  where  immobility  of  emotions  was  shown  were 
made  up  as  follows : 

cases 


Mental  conflict  .  .  .  .  6  (1  M.D.) 

Psychotic  or  psychopathic  .  .  6 

Mental  Defective  .  .  .6 

Constitutional  inferiors  .  .  3 


From  these  figures  it  is  evident  that  emotional  immobility  is 
invariably  psychopathological  or  is  an  indication  of  inherent 
defect  of  intelligence  or  sentiment  capacity. 

In  the  14  per  cent,  of  cases  marked  +  above  the  conditions 
bringing  about  the  lack  of  mobility  were  variable.  Mental 
conflict,  a  slow  imagination,  subnormality  and  mental  defect, 
ill-health,  or  a  sense  of  unfair  imprisonment  are  all  apt  to  cause 
the  flow  of  emotions  to  become  fixed  in  a  more  or  less  degree. 

Appendix  5.  Analysis  of  Attempts  at  Adjustment. 

(. Prison  Cases.) 

88  per  cent,  accepted  imprisonment  as  just,  although  in  some 
cases  they  thought  the  length  of  sentence  unfair.  Of  the 
remaining  12  per  cent.  10  showed  projection  and  two  negativism. 
They  were  made  up  as  follows  : 

cases 

Mental  conflict  .  .  .  .  7  (1  M.D.) 

Mentally  defective  .  .  .3 

Psychotic  .  .  .  .3 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  arm  of  the  law  does  not,  on 
the  whole,  miscarry ;  and  that  the  individual  does  not  quarrel 
with  the  authorities  who  carry  out  the  law.  Even  in  the 
prostitute  class,  where  conciliating  the  police,  oneway  or  another, 
is  from  long  custom  taken  so  much  as  part  of  the  game,  and 
failure  to  do  so  means  imprisonment,  seldom  is  complaint  made. 
It  is  accepted  in  the  same  way  as  losing  a  goal  at  football  or 
being  stumped  at  cricket. 


APPENDICES 


103 


Appendix  6.  A  Report  on  Prisons  and  Homes  on  the 
Continent  in  1927. 

The  object  in  making  a  tour  of  the  prisons  and  Homes  on  the 
Continent  was  twofold.  Primarily,  it  was  hoped  that  it  would 
be  instructive  and  helpful  in  the  working  out  of  the  problem  of 
how  best  to  deal  with  delinquency  ;  and  in  addition,  I  hoped  to 
find  that  my  colleagues  abroad  had  had  opportunities  for  experi¬ 
mentation  along  specialized  lines,  and  that  they  would  have 
something  definite  to  offer  in  the  way  of  results.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  on  the  whole  I  was  disappointed.  Nevertheless, 
there  were  one  or  two  experimental  Homes,  and  one  clinic  in 
particular,  that  were  of  considerable  interest. 

I  do  not  propose  to  give  here  a  detailed  account  of  all  that 
I  saw  in  the  many  prisons  and  Homes  which  I  visited,  but  to 
confine  myself  rather  to  selecting  such  material  as  I  judge  to  be 
of  particular  interest  within  the  scope  of  this  investigation. 

The  opportunity  of  seeing  prisons  and  Homes  abroad  was 
made  possible  not  only  by  the  letters  of  introduction  given 
me  by  Sir  Maurice  Waller  (late  Chairman  of  the  Prison  Com¬ 
missioners)  and  Mr.  Patterson  (Prison  Commissioner),  but  also 
by  their  personal  letters  to  the  authorities  beforehand.  The 
result  was  that  I  was  welcomed  everywhere  and  given  freedom 
to  see  anything  I  wished.  The  success  of  my  tour  was  entirely 
due  to  Sir  Maurice  Waller  and  Mr.  Patterson,  and  to  them  my 
thanks  are  due. 

In  Amsterdam  I  had  the  opportunity  of  meeting  Dr.  G.  T.  J. 
de  Yongh,  Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Courts  in  Amsterdam  and 
Director  of  the  Home  for  Girls.  He  has  been  judge  of  these 
Courts  for  many  years,  and  had  gradually  worked  towards  and 
finally  succeeded  in  establishing  a  Home  for  Girls  conducted 
along  individual  lines.  He  took  a  block  of  workmen’s  flats 
and  made  it  into  what  appears  to  the  public  to  be  an  ordinary 
hostel  for  girls,  and  he  furnished  it  as  such  a  hostel  would  be 
furnished,  only  perhaps  rather  more  lavishly.  Here  he  has 
placed  girls  of  the  types  which  fill  our  Preventive  and  Rescue 
Homes  in  this  country.  The  rules  of  the  hostel  are  simple. 
Beyond  the  rule  of  being  in  at  8  o’clock  there  are  none  which 
would  not  be  necessary  in  any  hostel.  The  girls  are  all  allowed 
to  go  out  to  their  work  daily.  Two-thirds  of  their  earnings  go 
to  the  Home,  the  other  third  is  divided  into  two  equal  parts,  of 
which  one  is  allotted  to  the  girl’s  present  use.  With  this  she 
buys  her  clothes  and  any  little  thing  she  fancies  for  the  decora¬ 
tion  of  her  room,  &c.  The  other  part  is  banked  for  her,  and 
this  sum  is  allowed  to  accumulate  until  she  leaves  the  Home, 
when  she  finds  herself  in  possession  of  a  nice  little  ‘  nest-egg  ’. 
Her  own  people  are  invited  to  come  and  see  her  once  a  month, 
and  she  is  allowed  to  visit  them  once  a  month. 

The  object  and  aim  in  Dr.  Yongh’s  mind  is  that  in  offering 
these  girls  a  home-life  under  such  pleasant  conditions  they 
themselves  will  grow  to  feel  that  these  conditions  are  desirable 
and  necessary.  The  complete  absence  of  uniform  and  of  any 


104  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

indication  that  the  house  is  other  than  a  hostel,  together  with 
the  absence  of  locks  and  keys  (the  only  exception  to  this  being 
that  their  windows  have  an  unobtrusive,  although  effective,  lock 
which  fixes  them  in  a  set  position  at  night),  eliminates  to  the 
last  degree  possible  the  idea  of  confinement  against  their  wills, 
and  gives  freedom  for  initiative  and  growth.  Opportunity  for 
aesthetic  development  is  an  important  part  of  the  Doctor’s  plan  ; 
a  piano  is  provided  and  wireless,  and  the  girls  are  taken  to 
concerts  and  cinemas.  They  are  encouraged  in  any  occupation 
they  may  wish  to  take  up.  No  religion  is  forced  on  any  of  the 
girls;  in  that  respect  also  they  are  entirely  free,  and  their 
personal  feelings  and  desires  are  consulted.  The  personnel  of 
the  Home  is  most  carefully  chosen,  and  is  few  in  number.  Great 
care  is  taken  that  the  girls  should  have  no  feeling  that  they  are 
being  perpetually  watched.  Dr.  Yongh  himself  visits  the  Home 
every  Sunday  and  chats  and  reads  to  the  girls — in  fact,  he  acts 
the  part  of  a  veritable  father  to  them  ;  they  discuss  freely  with 
him  all  their  peccadilloes.  The  freedom  with  which  they 
clustered  round  him  when  we  entered  made  me  feel  that  at 
least  he  held  their  affection. 

If  environment  alone  is  going  to  help  these  girls  to  a  higher 
standard  of  living  and  to  give  up  their  asocial  ways,  it  seems  to 
me  that  such  a  Home  as  this  is  calculated  to  bring  the  change 
about.  One  encouraging  result,  small  though  it  may  seem,  is 
that  the  older  girls  disapprove  strongly  of  the  new-comers  when 
they  use  unseemly  language.  Dr.  Yongh  was  chary  of  com¬ 
mitting  himself  to  any  statement  concerning  results,  since  the 
Home  had  only  been  in  existence  for  nine  months  when  I  went 
over  it. 

I  was  also  taken  over  the  Observation  Home  for  Boys  by 
Dr.  Yongh.  This  was  not  an  experimental  Home  as  in  the  case  of 
the  Gilds’  Home,  but  was  one  of  the  regular  penal  establishments. 

All  boys  brought  before  the  court  are  sent  for  inquiry  and 
investigation  into  the  Home.  The  boy  is  kept  in  solitary  confine¬ 
ment  from  7  to  14  days.  During  this  time  he  is  given  plenty 
of  interesting  work  to  do,  such  as  fretwork,  cardboard  building, 
putty  moulding,  &c.  Many  people  visit  him,  and  his  character 
is  closely  studied.  At  .  the  end  of  this  time  he  is  placed  with 
the  other  boys  and  watched,  and  is  now  taught  shoemaking, 
tailoring,  and  simple  carpentering  or  daywork.  A  case  sheet 
dealing  very  fully  with  his  general  make-up,  physical  and 
characterological,  his  home  conditions  and  heredity,  is  filled  in. 
Sometimes  a  psychiatrist  or  medical  psychologist  is  asked  to  give 
a  special  report,  but  this  is  not  required  as  a  routine. 

The  observation  lasts  about  a  month,  when  it  is  decided  either 
to  send  the  boy  home  or  to  a  reformatory. 

The  most  noticeable  lack  in  this  institution  was  that  of  facility 
for  games  or  sport.  The  Herr  Doctor  was  aware  of  this,  and 
deplored  the  absence  of  it. 

In  Berlin  the  Women’s  Remand  Prison  presented  a  modern 
prison  such  as  we  know  it.  The  few  points  of  difference  from 
ours,  some  good  and  some  not,  were  not  of  great  importance. 


APPENDICES 


105 


The  system  of  lavatory  arrangements  within  the  cell,  even 
though  in  this  case  a  modern  up-to-date  flushing  w.c.  pan  is 
used,  would  not  appeal  to  us  in  this  country.  This  system 
seemed  fairly  general  throughout  the  Continent,  but  in  some 
prisons  nothing  more  than  a  receptacle  with  a  cover  was  supplied, 
which  was  cleared  only  once  a  day.  Another  system  which 
seemed  fairly  general  was  that  of  having  more  than  one  person 
(1  to  12)  in  one  cell.  A  single-cell  system  is  being  aimed  at,  and 
the  replacement  of  large  cells  by  single  cells  is  gradually  taking 
place.  This  is  particularly  so  in  Germany.  There  seems  to  have 
arisen  in  this  country  a  wave  of  homosexuality  amongst  women 
since  the  war  which  is  giving  those  in  authority  considerable 
anxiet}r.  The  single-cell  system  is  at  least  a  temporary  pre¬ 
ventive  of  its  practice. 

The  prisoners  in  some  respects  are  freer  than  in  our  prisons. 
Twelve  women  are  in  an  association  room  at  a  time.  Talking 
is  allowed.  An  officer  is  not  present.  Privileges  are  to  be 
gained.  A  canteen  supplying  books,  soap,  and  eatables  is  within 
the  precincts.  There  is  no  trained  hospital  staff ;  one  semi- 
trained  officer  is  in  charge  of  the  sick,  but  all  cases  really 
needing  hospital  attention  are  removed  to  hospitals  outside. 

The  remand  cases  wear  their  own  outer  clothes  but  prison 
underlinen.  The  prisoners  wear  short  dresses  with  short  sleeves 
and  no  caps — a  far  more  sensible  outfit  than  ours  at  home. 

There  appears  to  be  no  psychological  study  or  investigation 
of  the  prisoners.  They  are  either  mad  or  not  mad.  If  mad, 
they  are  sent  to  an  asylum — thus  a  girl  with  hysterical  fits  will 
be  removed  to  an  asylum.  No  notice  is  taken  of  psychoneurotics 
medically ;  they  are  merely  being  naughty. 

In  the  General  Prison  (the  Remand  Prison  only  retained 
prisoners  up  to  one  year)  solitary  confinement  up  to  six  months 
was  part  of  the  punishment ;  after  this,  association  is  allowed 
and  certain  privileges  are  to  be  gained.  The  solitary  confine¬ 
ment  is  remitted  in  cases  where  the  nervous  strain  seems 
injurious. 

All  prisoners  are  allowed  to  write.  Some  write  diaries,  others 
poetry.  What  has  been  written  is  only  inspected  when  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  bad  use  is  being  made  of  this  facility. 

All  go  to  school  under  the  age  of  25  for  the  first  six  months. 
Teachers  are  all  paid  servants.  No  religion  is  forced  on  the 
women.  On  entry  they  are  classified  as  R.C.,  Protestant,  or 
Irreligious.  The  Irreligious  are  recognized  as  a  class  and  their 
feelings  respected.  The  reforms  which  have  taken  place,  and 
which  are  much  the  same  as  in  our  own  prisons,  do  not  make 
the  prisons  any  different  in  their  attitude  towards  their  fellow 
creatures.  ‘But,’  says  the  Directrice,  ‘it  makes  discipline  very 
difficult;  the  inmates  become  more  and  more  aggressive  in 
their  claims.’ 

The  idea  of  attacking  criminality  from  a  scientific  point  of 
view  produced  hilarious  laughter. 

In  Berlin  I  was  much  interested  in  a  special  clinic  which 
had  been  established  by  a  group  of  doctors  interested  in 


106  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

psychology  and  its  bearings  on  criminology.  To  this  clinic 
may  be  brought  any  delinquent  boy  or  girl  sent  in  either  by  the 
Courts  or  brought  in  by  the  heads  of  the  various  Homes  or  by 
anxious  parents.  It  has  not  been  in  existence  long,  and  Professor 
Kramer,  who  is  the  principal  organizer,  and  who  is  attached 
also  as  psychiatrist  and  psychologist  to  prisons,  told  me  that 
already  it  is  much  used  and  is  daily  becoming  more  known  to 
the  public.  Although  he  has  many  cases  sent  in  by  the  Courts, 
and  some  brought  in  by  parents  from  the  public  outside,  he 
finds  that  at  present  few  are  brought  in  from  the  Homes.  The 
heads  of  these  Homes  invariably  manifest  the  same  nervous 
distrust  that  one  is  familiar  with  in  this  country.  He  added, 
howevei’,  that  nervousness  and  distrust  are  gradually,  though 
very  slowly,  being  broken  down.  He  finds,  as  I  have  also 
consistently  found  in  my  work  in  Homes,  that,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  superintendents  are  very  unwilling  for  any  treat¬ 
ment  which  does  not  act  like  magic  or  which  entails  time  for 
its  fulfilment.  The  establishment  of  a  clinic,  however,  by  a 
body  of  psychologists  and  criminologists,  is  in  advance  of 
anything  we  can  yet  show  in  England,  where  work  of  this  kind 
seems  still  to  be  limited  to  the  enterprise  of  unsupported 
individual  effort.1  I  sincerely  hope  that  in  the  near  future  such 
a  clinic  will  become  inevitable,  not  only  in  the  eyes  of  the 
investigators,  but  also  in  those  of  the  public. 

From  Berlin  I  went  to  Hamburg,  where  I  found  an  experiment 
in  the  method  of  dealing  with  criminals  was  in  progress  that 
was  on  a  scale  more  complete  than  in  any  other  prison  that 
I  came  across  elsewhere.  The  Director  of  the  Prisons  in  Ham¬ 
burg  has  entire  charge  of  all  prisons  throughout  the  State  of 
Hamburg,  so  that  in  any  experiment  that  he  has  been  able  to 
make  his  ideas  hav6  penetrated  throughout  the  whole  penal 
system.  Fortunately  the  Director  is  a  man  of  breadth  of  mind 
and  imagination.  Moreover,  he  has  had  the  unique  good  fortune 
to  be  not  only  the  head  of  so  many  institutions,  but  also  to  have 
a  perfectly  free  hand  to  carry  out  his  own  schemes.  He  has 
been  supported  both  by  his  own  political  party  and  by  the 
Treasury.  Now  I  think  I  am  correct  if  I  state  that  the  Director’s 
aim,  briefly,  is  to  provide  for  all  the  people  who  come  under  his 
care  conditions  as  home-like  as  possible,  together  with  work 
suited  to  each  one.  The  delinquent’s  own  desires  and  capacities 
are  consulted  ;  in  fact,  he  is  granted  anything  he  asks  for  within 
reason.  Such  work  as  they  do  brings  in  money,  and  here,  as  in 
Dr.  Yongh’s  hostel,  the  money  is  applied  in  such  a  way  as  to 
give  the  individual  a  sense  of  responsibility  and  self-respect. 
Music,  art,  and  sport  have  been  introduced,  and  the  offender 
may  participate  in  any  of  these  diversions  in  his  free  time  if  he 
wishes  to  do  so.  Here  again,  so  far  as  is  possible,  locks  and  bars 
are  not'used.  Freedom  of  speech  is  the  rule.  Men  and  women 
have  access  to  all  the  officers  as  and  when  they  feel  need  of  them. 

1  Since  writing  this  several  clinics  have  been  established  which  deal  with  {inter 
alia )  the  difficult  and  asocial  child,  viz.  The  Child  Guidance  Clinic,  The  Children’s 
Clinic  run  by  Dr.  Margaret  Lowenfeld,  The  Child’s  Guidance  Council,  &e. 


APPENDICES 


107 


The  Herr  Doctor’s  argument  is  that  if  every  opportunity  is 
given  to  these  people  to  have  and  to  do  what  they  desire,  and 
if  at  the  same  time  a  feeling  of  general  friendliness  of  the 
officers  towards  the  inmates  is  established,  then,  if  under  these 
conditions  an  individual  still  continues  to  behave  asoeially,  the 
conclusion  that  he  is  suffering  from  mental  illness  is  inevitable, 
and  only  psychotherapy  can  help  him.  Therefore,  in  addition 
to  the  ordinary  medical  staff,  the  Doctor  has  supplied  them  with 
a  psychologist. 

In  his  establishment  for  boys  on  the  island  of  Hanoversandt 
the  Doctor  has  reproduced  as  far  as  possible  the  spirit  and 
atmosphere  of  a  public  school.  In  the  management  of  this 
establishment,  as  in  all  others,  he  has  eliminated  as  completely 
as  possible  the  use  of  locks  and  barbed  wire  and  all  forcible 
restrictions.  He  says  to  a  boy,  ‘  Now,  look  here,  do  you  think 
you  can  work  under  these  conditions  of  freedom  ?  If  you  find 
it  too  hard,  tell  me.  If  you  find  yourself  thinking  about  escape, 
tell  me.  If,  after  we  have  considered  the  difficulty  and  have 
tried  several  different  methods  to  ease  your  craving,  you  still 
feel  you  will  make  an  opportunity  to  escape,  then  for  your  own 
sake  I  will  make  it  impossible  for  you’.  When  he  finds  that  a 
boy  comes  to  him  and  says,  ‘  I  am  finding  my  liberty  too  great 
for  me  to  bear  ’,  he  frequently  sends  the  lad  home  for  a  few 
days.  On  the  whole  he  finds  that  this  works  well.  Of  course, 
occasionally  there  are  those  who  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to 
escape  no  matter  what  help  is  given.  He  endeavours,  especially 
with  the  juveniles,  to  develop  in  them  aesthetic  tendencies — 
love  of  cleanliness,  love  of  beauty  in  art  and  in  music. 

When  the  Director  first  took  his  present  position,  he  called 
together  all  his  staff  and  outlined  to  them  the  changes  which 
he  proposed  to  make.  Previously  the  prison  had  been  dark  and 
drear.  Solitary  confinement,  silence,  and  harsh  discipline  had 
been  the  rule.  He  asked  the  staff  to  tell  him  there  and  then 
whether  they  felt  they  could  carry  on  under  the  new  regime  as 
he  would  find  places  for  those  who  felt  they  could  not  do  so. 
Fifty  per  cent,  of  them  felt  strongly  that  the  working  of  the 
place  would  become  impossible  and  they  left.  Twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  the  remainder  tried  the  scheme,  but  were  unable  to 
grasp  the  essentials  of  what  the  Director  was  aiming  at,  and 
therefore  they  failed  to  co-operate.  The  Director  gradually 
eliminated  them  by  finding  them  situations  elsewhere.  He  says 
that  his  greatest  difficulty  is  to  find  a  suitable  staff  for  the  salary 
offered,  but  he  is  gradually  succeeding.  We  went  through 
every  kind  of  prison  and  Home,  and  everywhere  there  was  a 
spirit  of  friendly  co-operation  between  prisoners  and  staff. 
There  has  only  been  one  unpleasant  episode  since  the  inaugura¬ 
tion  of  the  scheme,  and  that  was  in  the  early  days  when  it  was 
first  started.  A  batch  of  convicts  tried  to  escape,  and  two  of 
them  were  shot  during  their  recapture.  Since  then  no  escape 
has  been  attempted.  This  event  seems  to  have  acted  very 
effectively  in  showing  the  prisoners  the  one  and  only  limit 
beyond  which  they  must  not  go. 


108  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  interesting  details  about  these 
prisons,  but  space  and  time  forbid.  I  pass  on  now  to  what 
I  found  in  Vienna. 

Once  again,  I  visited  the  prisons,  including  the  juvenile  prison ; 
there  are  no  reformatories,  and  no  Homes.  On  the  whole, 
things  were  by  comparison  backward  in  Austria  and  Vienna, 
partly,  and  possibly  chiefly,  because  of  the  poverty  of  that 
country.  Nevertheless,  there  seemed  to  me  one  experimental 
effort  that  was  well  worth  attention.  Herr  Aichhorn,  Educational 
Councillor  of  the  Vienna  Municipal  Offices  for  Montris,  some 
years  ago  was  asked  to  organize  a  large  educational  institution 
for  neglected  and  difficult  children  of  both  sexes  in  the  old 
barrack  camps  of  Ober-Hollabrunn.  Amongst  the  many  groups 
which  were  housed  in  the  Education  Institute  were  a  group  of 
‘  Agressives  This  group  was  formed  because  they  were  repelled 
bjr  the  other  groups.  This  group,  after  segregation,  was  allowed  to 
do  exactly  as  they  liked,  and  were  only  restrained  against  grossly 
injuring  each  other  or  the  staff.  The  personnel  was  not  to 
interfere  at  all,  unless  dangerous  circumstances  arose.  They 
were,  as  far  as  possible,  to  share  the  life  of  the  boys,  having 
meals  with  them,  &c.  At  first  pandemonium  ensued.  The  lads 
smashed  crockery  and  windows,  hit  each  other  about,  threw 
their  food  about,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  urinate  and  defaecate 
anywhere  they  chose.  At  the  end  of  a  month  the  inside  of 
these  barracks  was  indescribable  and  the  staff  completely  worn 
out.  The  Doctor  now  asked  for  other  barracks,  and  he  started 
again.  The  boys  themselves  seemed  exhausted  and  tired,  and 
when  taken  into  the  new  barracks  wished  now  to  behave 
decently.  Gradually  they  became  interested,  wanted  to  learn, 
sought  things  to  do,  and  a  spirit  of  friendly  rivalry  came  into 
being.  With  this  came  the  commencement  of  the  idea  of  self- 
government.  Pressure  was  gradually  brought  to  bear  by 
members  of  the  community  on  those  others  who  did  not  so 
readily  fall  in  with  the  unwritten  laws  of  the  group.  As  he 
added  to  the  numbers,  Herr  Aichhorn  grouped  them  into  sets, 
and  formed  the  plan  of  putting  the  new-comers  into  the  same 
house  as  the  ‘  discharge  group,’  that  is  to  say,  amongst  the  boys 
whom  he  judged  to  be  ready  for  discharge.  He  found  the 
influence  of  the  1  discharge  group  ’  useful  in  restraining  the 
extreme  rowdyism  of  the  new  arrivals,  and  at  the  same  time  he 
felt  that  the  entrance  group  was  useful  in  testing  the  fitness  for 
discharge  of  the  other  group.  He  argued  that  if,  under  the 
extremely  difficult  and  unpleasant  conditions  of  living  created 
by  the  new-comers,  the  discharge  group  were  able  to  manage 
well,  without  undue  reaction  and  affect,  then  indeed  they  might 
be  considered  fit  for  re-entry  into  society.  Herr  Aichhorn’s 
experiment  has  proved  so  successful  that  the  city  council  has 
placed  more  and  more  groups  under  his  supervision,  until  at  the 
present  time,  I  understand  he  has  three  or  more  separate  Homes 
under  his  charge.  Moreover,  details  of  his  cases  have  been 

1  Vide,  Neglected  Youth,  by  August  Aichhorn.  (Psyelioanalytischer  Verlag, 
Vienna.) 


APPENDICES 


109 


extremely  interesting.  The  experimental  conditions  under 
which  he  has  been  able  to  work,  combined  with  his  psychological 
understanding,  have  enabled  him  to  achieve  almost  phenomenal 
results  in  cases  where  no  other  training,  conducted  along  in¬ 
stitutional  lines  alone,  however  perfectly  planned,  could  have 
brought  about  such  excellent  results. 

Herr  Aichhorn’s  Homes  and  his  methods  are  certainly  worthy 
of  deep  and  careful  consideration.  His  views  as  to  the  effects  of 
institutional  life  run  parallel  with  my  own.  He  argues  that  the 
asocial  child  is  already  unable  to  experience  sufficient  pleasure  to 
relieve  his  tension,  therefore  the  obvious  thing  to  do  is  to  increase 
his  capacity  to  experience  pleasure.  Institutional  life,  as  at  present 
organized,  has  not  freed  itself  from  the  punitive  idea  which 
insists  on  restriction  of  liberty,  and  cannot  rid  itself  of  the  view 
that  pleasure  must  be  eliminated  to  a  vanishing  point.  The 
result  is  that,  when  a  young  person  is  once  again  sent  out  into 
society,  he  is  not  better  but  less  able  than  before  to  cope  with 
the  difficult  tendencies  in  himself.  This  explanation  may  well 
account  for  the  appalling  lack  of  success  in  dealing  with  these 
young  people  which  is  experienced  in  this  country  and  elsewhere. 

It  would  seem  that  in  Austria  at  present  there  is  very  little 
social  work  being  done,  but  the  efforts  of  Miss  Lohr,  whom  I 
must  mention  here,  have  been  extraordinarily  successful.  Miss 
Lohr  introduced  the  probation  system  into  Austria.  At  first, 
like  all  pioneer  work,  it  was  very  uphill.  She  had  to  crave 
permission  of  the  judges  that  the  experiment  might  be  tried. 
Now,  after  several  years,  not  only  has  probation  been  accepted  as 
necessary  by  all  the  Courts,  but  she  and  a  colleague  have  been 
made  a  grant,  and  she  is  now  training  under  her  as  many  as 
eighteen  voluntary  workers  to  cope  with  all  cases  that  the 
judges  send  her. 

The  main  prison  in  this  city  was  unmodernized  and  gave  one 
the  impression  of  poverty  and  slackness.  Those  in  charge  were 
slovenly  in  appearance.  This  was  all  explained  by  the  poverty 
of  the  country.  They  would  wish  to  be  as  forward  and  advanced 
as  in  other  countries  but  have  not  the  means  of  bringing  things 
up  to  date.  The  relationship  between  warders  and  prisoners 
was  free  and  easy.  The  attitude  of  mind  seems  to  be:  ‘You 
have  given  the  prisoner  his  sentence,  you  have  taken  his  liberty, 
and  that  is  the  end  of  it.’  The  discipline,  as  part  of  the  penalty, 
seemed  to  them  unnecessarily  severe.  This  spirit  is  all  to  the 
good,  but  that  it  could  be  used  to  cover  slackness  in  their 
responsibilities  towards  these  prisoners  was  obvious.  It  leaves 
scope  for  favouritism  and  graft,  and  the  authorities  were  by  no 
means  unaware  of  this. 

The  juvenile  prison  was  far  moi’e  up  to  date  than  the  general 
prison,  and  was  run  on  the  lines  of  a  reformatory.  The  influence 
of  Miss  Lohr,  the  lady  mentioned  above,  was  also  to  be  seen  here. 
She  keeps  an  eye  on  all  entrants,  both  while  they  are  in  the 
prison  and  after  they  are  released.  Lack  of  facilities  for  sport 
was  noticeable,  but  the  need  was  fully  recognized.  The  necessary 
money  to  acquire  ground,  however,  was  not  available. 


110  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

Tlie  prison  at  Innsbruck  was  much  the  same  in  equipment  and 
in  its  order  of  running  as  those  in  Vienna,  but  there  was  not 
the  same  opportunity  for  favouritism  and  graft  in  this  prison,  as 
it  was  small  and  under  the  supervision  of  Professor  Eoltin,  who 
was  modern  in  his  outlook,  and  was  only  awaiting  the  time  and 
opportunity  to  introduce  many  reforms. 

My  next  visit  was  to  Brussels,  where  I  was  shown  over  the 
Anthropological  Institute.  Every  prisoner,  male  and  female, 
passes  through  this  Institute.  Short  sentence  people  serve  their 
sentence  there.  A  complete  laboratory,  with  a  doctor  and  two 
assistants,  deal  with  each  prisoner  in  turn,  and  a  monthly 
physical  and  mental  condition  is  recorded  in  every  case.  It  was 
interesting  to  see  that  Dr.  Vervaeck’s  statistics  coincided  closely 
with  my  own.  It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  the  success  of 
the  work  done  here,  or  at  Moll,  where  the  juvenile  offenders 
are  segregated.  As  a  system  of  examination  there  seemed  to  be 
nothing  omitted,  and  the  statistical  results  should  be  of  value  ; 
but  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  treatment  side  of  the  work  was  not 
as  good  as  it  might  be.  Efforts  were  made  to  find  out  each 
individual’s  capacity  and  his  mental  and  physical  conditions. 
He  was  then  placed  in  a  Home  especially  selected  as  the  one 
best  calculated  to  meet  his  needs.  The  selection  of  the  Home 
seemed  to  be  the  beginning  and  end  of  treatment  along  scientific 
lines.  The  boys  were  then  left  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  staff  who, 
as  far  as  I  could  ascertain,  had  not  received  any  specialized  or 
psychological  training. 

In  conclusion,  let  it  be  said  that  it  was  undeniably  encouraging 
to  find  that  there  were  on  the  Continent  at  least  some  experi¬ 
ments  going  forward  along  lines  of  original  investigation.  In 
England  all  our  Homes  and  Institutions  are  still  run  along 
rigid  lines,  and  they  are  all  under  religious  jurisdiction.  That 
these  Institutions  often  offer  a  useful  refuge  to  these  difficult 
young  people  cannot  be  denied,  but  that  they  are  ineffective  in 
curing  the  troubles  which  are  the  source  of  their  difficulties  the 
Home  officials  themselves  would  doubtless  be  the  first  to  admit. 
Such  investigatory  work  as  is  in  progress  in  this  country  is 
prompted  by  the  enthusiasm  of  private  individuals,  who  are 
hampered  when  they  would  attempt  any  co-ordinated  clinical 
work  by  lack  of  support  from  public  money  and  public  interest. 
I  cannot  recall  a  single  instance  of  any  Home  in  this  country 
which  is  conducted  along  individual  and  scientific  lines,  or  one 
in  which  free  opportunity  is  given  for  scientific  research.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  the  time  will  soon  come  when  such  ventures  as 
have  been  started  abroad  will  be  possible  in  England  also.  In 
the  meantime  the  experiments  of  Dr.  Yongh  in  Amsterdam, 
Herr  Aichhorn  in  Vienna,  and  Dr.  Kok  of  Hamburg  should 
be  watched  by  all  who  are  sincerely  interested  in  the  problem  of 
delinquency,  both  as  to  its  origin  and  its  cure. 


WORKS  CONSULTED 


111 


SECTION  VIII.  WORKS  CONSULTED 

Abraham,  Karl.  Manifestations  of  the  Female  Castration  Complex.  {Int.  J. 
Psycho- Anal  ,1922,  3,  para).  On  Prostitution  on  p.  21. 

-  Psychological  Relations  between  Sexualityand  Alcoholism.  {Int.  J.  Psycho- Anal., 

1926,  7,  2.) 

Adler,  H.  M.  Biological  and  Pathological  Aspects  of  Behaviour  Disorders. 
{Am.  J.  Psychiat.,  1927,  102,  507-15.) 

Alexander,  F.  Castration  Complex  in  Character  Formation.  {Int.  J.  Psycho- 
Anal.,  1923,  4,  11-43.  See  especially  13,  21,  33.) 

Allen,  F.  H.  Psychic  Factors  in  Juvenile  Delinquency.  {Lancet,  1927,  ii,  764-74.) 
Bjerre,  Andreas.  The  Psychology  of  Murder,  1927.  Longmans. 

Bowman,  K.  M.  Medical  and  Social  Study  of  100  Cases  Referred  by  Courts  to 
Boston  Psychopathic  Hospital.  {Mental  Hyg.,  1928,  12,  55-71.) 

Burt,  Cyril.  The  Dreams  and  Day-dreams  of  a  Delinquent  Girl.  {J.  Exper. 
Pedagogy,  1921,  6.) 

-  The  Causes  and  Treatment  of  Juvenile  Delinquency.  {Psyche.,  1921,  2,  232 

339  ;  1922,  3,  56. 

- The  Causal  Factors  of  Juvenile  Crime.  {Brit.  J.  Med.  Psychol.,  1923,3,  1,  p.  1.) 

-  The  Young  Delinquent.  (London  Univ.  Press.) 

Chadwick,  M.  A  Case  of  Kleptomania  in  a  Girl  of  Ten  Years.  {Int.  J.  Psycho- 
Anal.,  1925,  6,  300.) 

- The  Psychological  Problem  of  the  Foster  Child.  {The'Child,  May,  1923.) 

Clark,  L.  Pierce.  A  Psychological  Study  of  Some  Alcoholics.  {Psychoanal.  Rev. 
6,  No.  3,  July,  1919.) 

- The  Newer  Work  on  Homosexuality.  {New  York  State  Hasp.  Bulletin,  Nov. 

1914.) 

Clarkson,  R.  D.  Causes  of  Mental  Deficiency.  {Edinb.  Med.  J.,  1927,  34,  61-75.) 
Cushing,  H.  M.,  Rucii,  G.  M.  Investigation  of  Character  Traits  in  Delinquent 
Girls.  (/.  Appl.  Psychol.,  1927,  11,  1-7.) 

East,  W.  N.  Interpretation  of  Sexual  Offences.  {J.  Ment.  Sci.,  July.  1925.) 

-  Some  Forensic  Aspects  of  Epilepsy.  {J.  Ment.  Sci.,  Oct.  1926,  pp.  533-41.) 

Fenichel,  O.  Clinical  Aspect  of  Need  for  Punishment.  {Int.  J.  Psycho-Anal., 
1928,  9,  47-70  ) 

Freud.  Alcoholism  and  Jealousy.  (A  case  of  Paranoia,  Collected  Papers,  3,  450.) 

-  Mourning  and  Melancholia  (Comparison  of  Alcoholic  Intoxication  with 

Mania).  {Ibid.,  4,  165.) 

- Reference  to  Alcoholic  Delirium  (Theory  of  Dreams).  {Ibid.,  4,  149,  foot¬ 
note  2.) 

- Criminality  from  a  Sense  of  Guilt.  {Collected  Papers,  4,  342  et  seqq 

- Psycho-analysis  in  Courts  of  Law.  {Ibid.,  especially  pp.  18,  21.  Collected  Papers, 

11,  13,  &c.) 

- An  Infantile  Neurosis.  {Ibid.,  especially  p.  496.  Collected  Papers,  111.) 

- Infantile  Mental  Life.  Refs,  to  Lying  and  Stealing.  {Ibid.,  2,  144  et  seq.) 

-  On  Special  Type  of  Choice  of  Object  made  by  Men.  {Collected  Papers,  4 

p.  192,  Ch.  XI.) 

Frink,  H.  W.  Morbid  Fears  and  Compulsions.  (Moffat  Yard  and  Company,  New 
York’,  Ch.  IV,  p.  152.) 

Gordon,  A.  Amnesia  from  Medicolegal  Viewpoint.  {Med.  J.  and  Rec.,  1928,  127, 
439,  477.) 

Glueck,  B.  Studies  in  Forensic  Psychiatry.  (Little,  Brown  and  Co.,  Boston,  1917.) 
- The  Malingerer.  {Int.  Cdn.,  1915,  3.) 

Glueck,  S.  Psychiatry  and  Criminal  Law.  {Mental  Hyg.,  1928,  12,  569-95  ) 

-  Psychiatric  Examination  of  Persons  Accused  of  Crime.  {Mental  Ilyg.,  1927, 

11,  287-305.) 

-  Some  Implications  of  the  Leopold-Loeb  Hearing  in  Mitigation.  {Mental  Hyg., 

N.Y.,  Sept.,  1925.) 

Goilen,  H.  Primitive  Ordeal  and  Modern  Law.  (Allen  and  Unwin,  1923.) 

Gribben  St.,  L.  II.  Delinquency.  {Med.  J.  Aust.,  Supp.  13,  pp.  387-8,  1927.) 
Grounse,  Dorothy.  Dementia  Praecox  and  Crime.  {Mental  Hyg.,  N.Y.,  Jan. 
1925.) 

Hamilton  Pearson,  E.  A.  Child  Delinquency.  {Lancet,  1927,  ii,  1312-13.) 
Haktshorne,  H.,  and  May,  M.  A.  Studies  in  Deceit.  Studies  in  the  Nature  of 
Character.  (New  York,  Macmillan  Co.,  1928) 

Healy,  W.  Mental  Factors  in  Crime.  {Mental  Hyg.,  1928,  12,  761-67  ) 

- The  Individual  Delinquent.  (Heinemann,  1915.) 

- Mental  Conflicts  and  Misconduct.  (Little,  Brown  and  Company,  Boston.) 


112 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DELINQUENCY 

Hopwood,  J.  S.  Child  Murder  and  Insanity.  (J.  Merit.  Sci.,  1927,  73,  95-108.) 
Jones,  E  it  nest.  Papers  on  Psycho-analysis,  3rd  edition.  Male  Potency  and  Prosti¬ 
tutes.  (pp.  508  9.) 

- Papers  on  Psycho-analysis,  3rd  edition.  (Chronic  Alcoholism  and  Homo¬ 
sexuality,  p.  48.) 

Kakpas,  M.  The  Psychopathology  of  Prostitution.  {N.Y.  Med.  J.,  1917,  106, 
No.  3.) 

Karpman,  B.  Psychoses  in  Criminals  :  Clinical  Studies  in  Psychopathology  of 
Crime  ;  Clinical  and  Casuistic  Material.  (J.  Ne>v.  Ment.  Pis  ,  1928,  67,  224, 
355,  478,  599;  68,  39.) 

Karpman,  Ben.  The  Sexual  Offenders.  ( Psychoanal .  Rev.,  1923,10,  270  ;  1924,  12, 
67,  151. 

Killick,  V.  Severity  of  Punishment  as  Deterrent  to  Crime.  (J.  Delingu.,  1927, 11, 
39-45.) 

Klein,  M.  Criminal  Tendencies  in  Normal  Children.  {Brit.  J.  Med.  Psychol.,  1927, 
7,  177-92.) 

Kohs,  S.  C.  What  Science  has  taught  us  regarding  the  Criminal.  {J.  Delingu., 
1927,  11,  170-80.) 

Kolb,  Lawrence.  Drug  Addiction  and  Crime.  {Mental  Hyg.,  N.Y.,  Jan.  1926.) 
Leahy,  A.  M.  Emphasis  in  Psychiatric  Social  Case-Work.  {Mental  Plyg.,  1926,  10, 
743-50.) 

Leahy,  M.  P.  The  Mind  in  Disease.  Some  Conditions  Cured  by  Suggestion.  (Pp.  178, 

1926. ) 

McIver,  J.  Juvenile  Delinquent.  {J.Amer.  Med.  Ass.,  1927,  89,  1598-1600.) 
Minogue,  S.  J.  Crime  and  Insanity.  {Med.  J.  Aust.,  1927,  Supp.  12,  p.384  ;  Supp. 
13,  p.  385.) 

Orbison,  T.  Prevention  of  Crimes  in  Mental  Deviates.  {J.  Delingu.,  1927,  11, 
100-5.) 

Overholser,  W.  Psychiatric  Service  in  Penal  Reformatory  Institutions  and 
Criminal  Courts  in  United  States.  ( Mental  Hyg.,  1928,  12,  801-38.) 

- Psychiatry  and  Treatment  of  Offenders.  (Mental  Hyg.,  1927,  11,  306-23.) 

Parsons,  H.  C.  Learned  Judge  and  Mental  Defective  Meet.  What  then  ?  {Mental 
Hyg.,  1928,  12,  25-37.) 

Pfister,  Oskar.  Love  in  Children  and  its  Aberrations.  (Ch.  XII,  pp.  233-5.) 

Potter,  H.  W-  The  Pathological  Nature  of  Mental  Defect.  {Mental  Hyg.,  1927,  11, 
148-55.) 

Potts,  W.  A.  The  Awkward  Age.  {Lancet,  May,  1925.) 

- The  Psychological  Treatment  of  Criminals  in  Different  Countries.  {Lancet, 

1922,  ii,  1365.) 

Read,  Stanford.  Society  of  the  Criminal.  ( J .  Neurol.  Psijchopath. ,  1923,  4,  35.) 
Rees,  Thomas,  and  Gostwych.  Delinquent  Mental  Defectives.  {J.  Ment.  Sci.,  Jan. 
1925.) 

Reich,  Dr.  Wilhelm.  Der  Triebhafter  Karacter.  (In  process  of  translation  into 
English  for  publication.) 

Richards,  Esther.  Delinquent  Trends  in  Children.  {Mental  Hyg.,  N.Y.,  April, 
1925.) 

Rickman,  J.  Alcoholism  and  Psycho-analysis.  {Brit.  J.  Inebriety,  Oct.  1925.) 
Riddle,  E.  M.  Stealing  as  a  Form  of  Aggressive  Behaviour.  (J.  Abnorwi.  Psychol., 

1927,  22,  40-51,  157-69.) 

Riggall,  Robert.  Homosexuality  and  Alcoholism.  {Psycho-Anal.  Rev.,  1925,  10, 
157.) 

Sayles,  Mary  B.  The  Problem  Child  in  School.  (1926,  New  York.  Committee  on 
Delinquency.) 

Schlapp,  M.  G.,  and  Smith,  E.  H.  The  New  Criminology.  (New  York,  1928.) 
Schroeder,  Th.  Psycho  Genetics  of  the  Criminal.  (1924,  11,  277.) 

- Mental  Disorders  and  the  Criminal  Law.  {Mental  Hyg.,  N.Y.,  Sept.  1925.) 

Smith,  Hamblin  M.,  and  Fairweather,  Anne.  The  Case  of  Richard  Loeb  and 
Nathan  Leopold.  (J.  Ment.  Sci.,  Jan.  1925.) 

Smith,  Hamblin  M.  A  Note  on  Heilbronner’s  Apperception  Test.  {Medical  Journal, 
Feb.  1925.) 

- The  Psychopathic  Personality.  (J.  Ment.  Sci.,  Oct.  1925.) 

Stekel,  W.  The  Psychology  of  Kleptomania.  (Translated  by  Tannenbaum.) 
(Amer.  J.  TJrol.,  Feb.  1918.) 

- Peculiarities  of  Behaviour.  (Williams  and  Norgate.) 

- Homosexual  Neurosis.  (Badger,  New  York.) 

Sullivan,  W.  C.  Crime  and  Insanity.  (Edward  Arnold  &  Co.) 

Tredgold,  A.  F.,  Burt,  Cyril,  Smith,  Hamblin  M.,  Rees,  Thomas  W.,  Siirubsall. 
The  Definition  and  Diagnosis  of  Moral  Imbecility.  {Brit.  J.  Med.  Psychol.,  6, 
Part  I.) 


WORKS  CONSULTED 


113 


Wallace,  G.  L.  Are  the  Feebleminded  Criminals  ?  ( Mental  Hyg.,  1929, 13,  93-98.) 
Wembridge,  E.  R.  Social  Adjustment  of  Moron  Girls.  (Mental  Hyg.,  1926,  10, 
307-17.) 

White,  A.  M.  Legal  Insanity  in  Criminal  Cases,  past,  present,  and  future. 
{J.  Amer.  Inst.  Crim.  Law  and  Criminal,  1927,  18,  165-74.) 

-  Need  for  Co-operation  between  Legal  Profession  and  Psychiatrist  in  dealing 

with  Crime  Problem.  {Amer.  J.  Psychial.,  1927,  7,  493-506.) 

White,  W.  A.  Revelations  of  the  Unconscious  in  a  Toxic  (Alcoholic)  Psychosis. 
{Amer.  J.  Insan.,  74,  437-44.) 

-  Insanity  and  Crime.  {Mental  Hyg.,  1926,  10,  265-76.) 

Wholey,  C.  C.  Revelations  of  the  Unconscious  in  a  Toxic  (Alcoholic)  Psychosis. 
{Amer.  J.  Insan.,  74,  No.  3  ) 

Wile,  Ira  S.  Behaviour  Difficulties  of  Children.  {Mental  Hyg.,  Jan.  1927, 
pp.  38-52.) 

Witte,  H  J.  Criminal  Psychology.  {Med.  Times,  New  York,  1928,  56,  143  ;  163.) 
Wyman,  B.  L.  Crime  and  Delinquency  in  Relation  to  Mental  Disorders.  {South 
Med.  J.,  1928,  21,  25-29.) 

Young,  II.  T.  P.  Incendiarism  in  Adult  Males  {Lancet,  June,  1925.) 

Young,  H.  T.  P.  Observations  on  the  Prison  Psychoses.  {J.  Ment.  Sci.,  Jan.  1927, 
pp.  80-95  ) 


Printed  under  the  authority  of  His  Majesty’s  Stationery  Office 
by  John  Johnson,  at  the  University  Press,  Oxford 


(1463)  Ps.  32367.  Wt.  19193.  1067.  250.  12/32.  O.U.P. 

H 


♦ 


#ribj)  ittounctl 

MEDICAL  RESEARCH  COUNCIL 

(Formerly  Medical  Research  Committee,  National  Health  Insurance.) 


LIST  OF  PUBLICATIONS 

(The  prices  given  are  net:  those  in  brackets  include  postage.) 

December,  1932. 

The  following  publications  relating  to  the  work  of  the  Medical  Research  Council  can 
be  purchased  directly  from  H.M.  Stationery  Office,  at  the  following  addresses: 
Adastral  House,  Kingsway,  London,  W.C.  2 ;  120  George  Street,  Edinburgh  ;  York 
Street,  Manchester  ;  1  St.  Andrew’s  Crescent,  Cardiff  ;  15  Donegall  Square  West,  Belfast ; 

or  through  any  bookseller.* 

In  addition,  numerous  memoirs  upon  work  aided  by  the  Medical  Research  Council  have 
appeared  in  Scientific  Journals  :  particulars  of  these  may  be  seen  in  the  Annual  Reports. 

ANNUAL  REPORTS 

Medical  Research  Committee,  Nos.  1-5, 1914-15  to  1918-19. 

Medical  Research  Council,  1919-20  to  1929-30. 

(Price  of  each  report  from  1920-1  to  1925-6,  3s.  6 d.  (3s.  8 d.);  from  1926-7  to  1928-9, 
3s.  (3s.  2d.) ;  1929-30  and  1930-31, 2s.  6d.  (2s.  8 d.).) 

SPECIAL  REPORTS,  &c. 

Alcohol  : 

No.  31.  Alcohol:  its  Absorption  into  and  Disappearance  from  the  Blood  under  different 
conditions.  By  E.  Mellanby.  [1919.]  Out  of  print. 

No.  34.  The  Influence  of  Alcohol  on  Manual  Work  and  Neuro-muscular  Co-ordination. 
By  H.  M.  Vernon.  [1919.]  2s.  (2s.  Id.). 

No.  56.  The  Effects  of  Alcohol  and  some  other  Drugs  during  Normal  and  Fatigued 
Conditions.  By  W.  McDougall  and  May  Smith.  [1920.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  168.  Alcohol  and  Inheritance:  An  Experimental  Study.  By  F.  M.  Durham  and 
H.  M.  Woods.  [1932.]  Is.  3d. 

(Book).  Alcohol:  its  Action  on  the  Human  Organism.  Second  Edition.  [1924.] 
Is.  paper  covers,  Is.  6 d.  cloth  bound. 

Anaerobic  Bacteria:  see  Wound  Infections. 

Animals,  Diseases  of : 

No.  121.  Borna  Disease  and  Enzootic  Encephalo-Myelitis  of  Sheep  and  Cattle.  By 
S.  Nicolau  and  I.  A.  Galloway.  [1928.]  5s.  (5s.  2 \d.). 

Bacteriology  (Miscellaneous)  : 

No.  35.  The  Reaction  of  Culture  Media,  by  S.  R.  Douglas,  J.  W.  H.  Eyre,  P.  P.  Laidlaw, 
and  C.  G.  L.  Wolf.  Second  Edition,  revised  by  P.  P.  Laidlaw.  [1927.]  6 d.  (7 d.). 

No.  49.  On  the  Destruction  of  Bacteria  in  Milk  by  Electricity.  By  J.  M.  Beattie  and 
F.  C.  Lewis.  [1920.]  Out  of  print. 

No.  51.  The  Laboratory  Diagnosis  of  Acute  Intestinal  Infections,  including  the  Principles 
and  Practice  of  the  Agglutination  Tests.  By  the  Committee  upon  Pathological 
Methods.  [1920.]  4s.  Od.  (4s.  8d.). 

No.  64.  Catalogue  of  the  National  Collection  of  Type  Cultures.  Third  Edition.  [1931.] 
2s.  (2s.  Id.). 

No.  169.  The  Haemolytic  Streptococci:  Their  Grouping  by  Agglutination.  By  F.  W. 
Andrewes  and  Ethel  M.  Christie.  [1932.]  Is.  3d.  (Is.  4|d.). 

See  also  Surgery  (No.  138). 

A  System  of  Bacteriology  in  Relation  to  Medicine.  (See  p.  x.) 

Blood  Physiology: 

No.  72.  The  Acid-base  Equilibrium  of  the  Blood.  By  the  Haemoglobin  Committee. 

[1923.]  2s.  (2s.  Id.). 

See  also  Shock,  Surgical. 

Borna  Disease  :  see  Animals,  Diseases  of. 

*  For  overseas  agencies  see  p.  ix. 

H  2 


1463 


(2) 


Special  Reports— continued. 


Brain  Surgery:  see  Surgery. 

Bright’s  Disease  :  see  Nephritis. 

Burns : 

No.  141.  The  Tannic  Acid  Treatment  of  Burns.  By  W.  C.  Wilson.  [1929.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.) 

Cancer  : 

No.  99.  An  Investigation  into  the  Statistics  of  Cancer  in  Different  Trades  and  Profes¬ 
sions.  By  Matthew  Young  and  W.  T.  Russell.  [1926.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7d.). 

See  also  Radium. 

Catgut :  see  Surgery  (No.  138). 

Cerebro-spinal  Fever  : 

No.  2.  Report  of  the  Special  Advisory  Committee  upon  Bacteriological  Studies  of 
Cerebro-spinal  Fever  during  the  Epidemic  of  1915.  [1916.]  Out  of  print. 

No.  3.  Bacteriological  Studies  in  the  Pathology  and  Preventive  Control  of  Cerebro-spinal 
Fever  among  the  Forces  during  1915  and  1916.  By  M.  H.  Gordon,  Martin  Flack, 
P.  W.  Bassett-Smith,  T.  G.  M.  Hine,  and  W.  J.  Tulloch.  [1917.]  Out  of  print. 

No.  17.  (I.)  A  Report  upon  the  Seasonal  Outbreak  of  Cerebro-spinal  Fever  in  the  Navy 
at  Portsmouth,  1916-17.  By  Paul  Fildes  and  S.  L.  Baker.  (II.)  The  Treatment  of 
Cerebro-spinal  Meningitis  by  Antimeningococcus  Serum  at  the  Royal  Naval  Hospital, 
Haslar,  1915-16-17.  By  G.  P.  Adshead.  [1918.]  2s.  6 d.  (2s.  8 |d.). 

No.  50.  Cerebro-spinal  Fever.  Studies  in  the  Bacteriology,  Preventive  Control,  and 
Specific  Treatment  of  Cerebro-spinal  Fever  among  the  Military  Forces,  1915-19.  By 
M.  H.  Gordon  and  others.  [1920.]  4s.  (4s.  3d.). 

No.  124.  The  Meningococcus.  By  E.  G.  D.  Murray.  [1929.]  3s.  6d.  (3s.  8 id.). 
Chemotherapy  :  see  Streptococcal  Infections. 

Child  Life  (Antenatal  and  Postnatal  Investigations)  : 

No.  10.  The  Mortalities  of  Birth,  Infancy,  and  Childhood.  By  A.  K.  Chalmers,  W.  A. 

Brend,  L.  Findlay,  and  J.  Brownlee.  [1918.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7 £d.). 

No.  74.  The  Relation  between  Home  Conditions  and  the  Intelligence  of  School  Children. 
By  L.  Isserlis.  [1923.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  81.  The  Effect  of  Maternal  Social  Conditions  and  Nutrition  upon  Birth-weight  and 
Birth-length.  By  M.  Bruce  Murray.  [1924.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  82.  Maternal  Syphilis  as  a  cause  of  Death  of  the  Foetus  and  of  the  New-born  Child. 

By  J.  N.  Cruickshank.  [1924.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7 \d.). 

No.  86.  The  Estimation  of  Foetal  Age,  the  Weight  and  Length  of  Normal  Foetuses, 
and  the  Weights  of  Foetal  Organs.  By  J.  N.  Cruickshank,  M.  J.  Miller,  and  F.  J. 
Browne.  [1924.]  2s.  6 d.  (2s.  7 £d.). 

No.  101.  Poverty,  Nutrition,  and  Growth  :  Studies  of  Child  Life  in  Cities  and  Rural 
Districts  of  Scotland.  By  D.  Noel  Paton,  Leonard  Findlay,  and  others.  [1926.] 
10s.  (10s.  4 id.). 

No.  109.  A  Clinical  and  Pathological  Study  of  1,673  Cases  of  Dead-Births  and  Neo-natal 
Deaths.  Compiled  by  E.  L.  Holland  and  J.  E.  Lane-Claypon.  [1926.]  3s.  6d.(3s.7£d.). 
No.  114.  Social  Conditions  and  Acute  Rheumatism.  [1927.]  2s.  6d.  (2s.  8d.). 

No.  117.  The  Toxaemias  of  Pregnancy  :  A  Clinical  and  Biochemical  Study.  By  J.  N. 

Cruickshank,  J.  Hewitt,  and  K.  L.  Couper.  [1927.]  4s.  (4s.  2d.). 

No.  118.  The  Cause  of  Foetal  Death  in  144  Cases.  By  A.  C.  Palmer.  [1928.]  3s. 

(3s.  2d.). 

No.  145.  The  Causes  of  Neo-natal  Death.  By  J.  N.  Cruickshank.  [1930.]  Is.  6 d. 
(Is.  7 id.). 

No.  157.  Nutritional  Anaemia  in  Infancy:  The  Influence  of  Iron  Deficiency  on  Infant 
Health.  By  H.  M.  M.  Mackay,L.  Goodfellow,  and  A.  Bradford  Hill.  [1931.]  2s.  (2s. 2d.). 
No.  162.  Intelligence  and  Disease.  By  Shepherd  Dawson  assisted  by  J.  C.  M.  Conn. 
[1931.]  Is.  (Is.  l£d.). 

No.  171.  Facial  Growth  in  Children,  with  Special  Reference  to  Dentition.  Part  I,  by 
Corisande  Smyth.  Part  II,  by  Matthew  Young.  [1932.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  8 d.) 

See  also  Nutrition  ;  Rickets. 

Dental  Disease  : 

No.  70.  The  Structure  of  Teeth  in  relation  to  Dental  Disease.  By  J.  Howard  Mummery. 
[1922.]  2s.  (2s.  Id.). 

ii  •> 


Special  Reports— continued. 

No.  97.  The  Incidenceof  Dental  Disease  in  Children.  By  the  Committee  for  the  Investi¬ 
gation  of  Dental  Disease.  [1925.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7£d.). 

No.  140.  Diet  and  the  Teeth  :  An  Experimental  Study.  Part  I.  Dental  Structure  in 
Dogs.  By  May  Mellanby.  [1929.]  17s.  6 d.  (18s.). 

No.  153.  Diet  and  the  Teeth :  An  Experimental  Study.  Part  II.  A.  Diet  and  Dental 
Disease.  B.  Diet  and  Dental  Structure  in  Mammals  other  than  the  Dog.  By  May 
Mellanby.  [1930.]  2s.  G d.  (2s.  8 id.). 

No.  159.  The  Influence  of  Diet  on  Caries  in  Children’s  Teeth  (Interim  Report).  By  the 
Dental  Committee.  [1931.]  G d.  (7 d.). 

See  also  Child  Life  (No.  171). 

Diphtheria  : 

No.  115.  The  Prevention  of  Diphtheria.  By  J.  Graham  Forbes.  [1927.]  2s.  (2s.  lid.). 

(Book).  Diphtheria  :  its  Bacteriology,  Pathology,  and  Immunology.  By  the  Bacterio¬ 
logical  Committee.  [1923.]  12s.  6d.  (13s.  3d.). 

See  also  Epidemiology  (No.  75),  Statistics  (No.  137). 

Dysentery : 

Reports  upon  Investigations  in  the  United  Kingdom  of  Dysentery  Cases  received  from  the 
Eastern  Mediterranean: — 

No.  4.  I.  Amoebic  Dysentery  and  the  Protozoological  Investigation  of  Cases  and  Carriers. 
By  Clifford  Dobell.  [1917.]  Out  of  print. 

No.  5.  II.  Report  upon  878  Cases  of  Bacillary  Enteritis.  By  L.  Rajchman  and  G.  T. 
Western.  [1917.]  Out  of  print. 

No.  6.  III.  Report  upon  recovered  Cases  of  Intestinal  Disease  in  the  Royal  Naval 
Hospital,  Haslar,  1915-16.  By  Paul  Fildes  and  others.  IV.  Report  upon  combined 
Clinical  and  Bacteriological  Studies  of  Dysentery  Cases  from  the  Mediterranean.  By 
S.  R.  Douglas  and  L.  Colebrook.  [1917.]  4s.  (id.  (4s.  7 id.). 

No.  7.  V.  Report  upon  2,360  Enteritis  ‘Convalescents’  received  at  Liverpool  from 
various  Expeditionary  Forces .  By  E.  Glynn  and  others.  [1918.]  2s.  (2s.  2d.). 


No.  15.  A  Study  of  1,300  Convalescent  Cases  of  Dysentery  from  Home  Hospitals  :  with 
special  reference  to  the  Incidence  and  Treatment  of  Amoebic  Dysentery  Carriers.  By 
Clifford  Dobell,  H.  S.  Gettings,  Margaret  W.  Jepps,  and  J.  B.  Stephens.  [1918.] 
Is.  3d.  (Is.  4d.). 

No.  29.  A  Contribution  to  the  Study  of  Chronieity  in  Dysentery  Carriers.  By  W. 

Fletcher  and  Doris  L.  Mackinnon.  [1919.]  9d.  (10d.). 

No.  30.  An  Investigation  of  the  Flexner-Y  Group  of  Dysentery  Bacilli.  By  H.  S. 
Gettings.  [1919.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  40.  Studies  of  Bacillary  Dysentery  occurring  in  the  British  Forces  in  Macedonia. 

By  L.  S.  Dudgeon  and  others.  [1919.]  3s.  (3s.  1  Jd.). 

No.  42.  A  Study  of  the  Serological  Races  of  the  Flexner  Group  of  Dysentery  Bacilli. 

By  F.  W.  Andrewes  and  A.  C.  Inman.  [1919.]  2s.  (2s.  1  id.). 

See  also  Food  Poisoning. 

Encephalitis  : 

No.  108.  The  Sheffield  Outbreak  of  Epidemic  Encephalitis  in  1924.  [1926.)  Is.  9d. 
(Is.  10$d.). 

Enteric  Infections  : 

No.  9.  A  Report  upon  the  Use  of  Atropine  as  a  Diagnostic  Agent  in  Typhoid  Infections. 
By  H.  F.  Marris.  [1917.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  48.  A  Report  on  the  probable  Proportion  of  Enteric  Infections  among  Undiagnosed 
Febrile  Cases  invalided  from  the  Western  Front  since  October  1916.  By  W.  W.  C. 
Topley,  S.  G.  Platts,  and  C.  G.  Imrie.  [1920.]  3s.  (3s.  lid.). 

See  also  Bacteriology  ;  Food  Poisoning. 

Epidemiology  : 

No.  75.  The  Schick  Test,  Diphtheria  and  Scarlet  Fever.  By  S.  F.  Dudley.  [1923.] 
Is.  (Is.  lid.). 


Special  Reports — continued. 

No.  111.  The  Spread  of  Droplet  Infection  in  Semi-isolated  Communities.  By  S.  F. 
Dudley.  [1920.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7£d.)- 

No.  120.  An  Inquiry  into  the  Relationship  between  Housing  Conditions  and  the  In¬ 
cidence  and  Fatality  of  Measles.  By  J.  L.  Halliday.  [1928.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

See  also  Small-pox  ;  Statistics  ;  Tuberculosis  ;  etc. 

Flying,  Medical  Problems  of: 

Reports  of  the  Air  Medical  Investigation  Committee: — 

No.  28.  The  Sense  of  Balance  and  Stability  in  the  Air.  By  Henry  Head.  [1919], 
9 d.  (10 d.).  (Included  in  No.  53.) 

No.  37.  The  Effects  of  Diminished  Tension  of  Oxygen,  with  especial  reference  to  the 
Activity  of  the  Adrenal  Glands.  By  C.  H.  Kellaway.  The  Ear  in  relation  to  certain 
Disabilities  in  Flying.  By  S.  Scott.  [1919.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  53.  The  Medical  Problems  of  Flying  (including  reports  on  oxygen  want, selection 
of  candidates  for  flying,  sense  of  balance,  and  flying  strain).  [1920.]  6s.(6s.4d.). 


No.  84.  The  Application  of  the  Air  Force  Physical  Efficiency  Tests  to  Men  and  Women. 
By  L.  D.  Cripps.  [1924.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7id.). 

Food  Poisoning: 

No.  24.  A  Report  on  the  Investigation  of  an  Epidemic  caused  by  Bacillus  aertrycke. 
By  H.  Marrian  Perry  and  H.  L.  Tidy .  [1919.]  9d.  (10d.). 

No.  91.  An  Investigation  of  the  Salmonella  Group,  with  Special  Reference  to  Food 
Poisoning.  By  W.  G.  Savage  and  P.  Bruce  White.  [1925.]  3s.  6d.  (3s.  8d.). 

No.  92.  Food  Poisoning  :  a  Study  of  100  Recent  Outbreaks.  By  W.  G.  Savage  and 
P.  Bruce  White.  [1925.]  2s.  6d.  (2s.  8d.). 

No.  103.  Further  Studies  of  the  Salmonella  Group.  By  P.  Bruce  White.  [1926.] 
5s.  (5s.  2£d.). 

Goitre : 

No.  154.  Iodine  Supply  and  the  Incidence  of  Endemic  Goitre.  By  J.  B.  Orr.  [1931.] 
4d.  (5 d.)  See  also  Nutrition  (No.  123). 

Haemoglobin  :  see  Blood. 

Hearing: 

No.  166.  Reports  of  the  Committee  upon  the  Physiology  of  Hearing.  I.  The  Localization 
of  Sounds  in  the  Median  Plane.  By  J.  H.  Shaxby,  and  F.  H.  Gage.  II.  Some  Factors  in 
Auditory  Localization.  By  H.E.O.  James, and  Marion  E.  Massey.  [1932.]  Is.  (Is.  1  Jd.). 

Heart : 

No.  8.  Report  upon  Soldiers  returned  as  Cases  of  ‘Disordered  Action  of  the  Heart’ 
(D.A.H.),  or  Valvular  Disease  of  the  Heart.  By  Sir  Thomas  Lewis.  [1917.] 
Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  147.  The  Electrocardiogram.  By  W.  H.  Craib.  [1930.]  Is.  3d.  (Is.  4 id.). 

Industrial  Health : 

The  Annual  Reports  of  the  Industrial  Health  (formerly  Fatigue)  Research  Board,  and 
special  reports  on  particular  subjects, are  published  for  the  Council  in  separate  series. 
The  subjects  dealt  with  include  accident  causation,  rest  pauses,  spells  of  work, 
movement  study,  vocational  selection,  and  problems  of  particular  industries.  A 
list  can  be  supplied  on  application  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Board,  38  Old  Queen  Street, 
Westminster,  S.W.l. 

Influenza : 

No.  36.  Studies  of  Influenzain  Hospitals  of  the  British  Armiesin  France,  1918.  [1919.] 
3s.  6 d.  (3s.  8d.). 

No.  63.  Studies  in  the  Aetiology  of  Epidemic  Influenza.  By  J.  McIntosh.  [1922.] 
2s.6d.(2s.7d.). 

Jaundice  : 

No.  113.  Spirochaetal  Jaundice.  By  G.  Buchanan.  [1927.]  4s.  (4s.  2d.). 

Light  Treatment : 

No.  131.  Irradiation  and  Health  :  Two  Experimental  Studies.  By  Dora  Colebrook. 
[1929.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7d.). 
iv 


Special  Reports — continued. 


Malaria  :  see  Quinine. 

Maternal  Mortality :  see  Child  Life  and  Streptococcal  Infections. 

Measles  :  see  Epidemiology  (No.  120). 

Miners’  Dietaries  :  see  Nutrition. 

Miners’  Diseases,  etc.  : 

No.  89.  Report  on  Miners’ ‘  Beat  Knee  *  Beat  Hand’,  and  *  Beat  Elbow  ’.  By  E.  L. 

Collis  and  T.  L.  Llewellyn.  [1924.]  Is.  Gd.  (Is.  7d.). 

See  also  Jaundice  (No.  113). 

Miners’  Nystagmus  :  see  Vision. 

Nephritis  : 

No.  43.  Albuminuria  and  War  Nephritis  among  British  Troops  in  France.  By  H. 
MacLean.  [1919.]  2s.  Gd.  (2s.  8d.). 

No.  142.  A  Classification  of  Bright’s  Disease.  By  Dorothy  S.  Russell.  [1929.] 
8s.  6d.  (8s.  10d.). 

Nerve  Injuries  : 

Reports  of  the  Committee  upon  Injuries  to  the  Nervous  System : — 

No.  54.  The  Diagnosisand  Treatment  of  Peripheral  Nerve  In  juries.  [1920.]  2  s.  (2s.  1  id.). 
No.  88.  Injuries  of  the  Spinal  Cord  aRd  Cauda  Equina.  [1924.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7id.). 
Nutrition  : 

No.  13.  An  Enquiry  into  the  Composition  of  Dietaries,  with  special  reference  to  the 
Dietaries  ofMunition  Workers.  By  Viscount  Dunluce  and  Major  Greenwood. 

Out  of  print. 

No.  87.  Report  on  the  Nutrition  of  Miners  and  their  Families.  By  the  Committee  upon 
Quantitative  Problems  in  Human  Nutrition.  [1924.]  Is.  3d.  (Is.  4d.). 

No.  105.  Diets  for  Boys  during  the  School  Age.  By  H.  C.Corry  Mann.  [1920.]  2s.  Gd. 
(2s.  7 id.). 

No.  123.  Iodine  in  Nutrition  :  a  Review  of  Existing  Information.  By  J.  B.  Orr  and 
I.  Leitch.  [1929.]  2s.  Gd.  (2s.  8d.).  See  also  Goitre  (No.  154). 

No.  135.  The  Carbohydrate  Content  of  Foods.  By  R.  A.  McCance  and  R.  D.  Lawrence. 
[1929.]  2s.  (2s.  lid.). 

No.  146.  The  Antiscurvy  Vitamin  in  Apples.  By  Mary  F.  Bracewell,  E.  Hoyle,  and 
S.  S.  Zilva.  [1930.]  9d.  (10d.). 

No.  151.  A  Study  in  Nutrition.  An  Inquiry  into  the  Diet  of  154  F'amilies  of  St.  Andrews. 

By  E.  P.  Cathcart  and  A.  M.  T.  Murray,  assisted  by  M.  Shanks.  [1931.]  Is.  (Is.  lid.). 
No.  155.  Studies  of  Nutrition :  The  Physique  and  Health  of  Two  African  Tribes.  By  J.  B. 
Orr  and  J.  L.  Gilks.  [1931.]  2s.  (2s.  2d.). 

No.  158.  The  Quantitative  Estimation  of  Vitamin  D  by  Radiography.  By  R.  B.  Bour- 
dillon,  H.  M.  Bruce,  C.  Fischmann,  and  T.  A.  Webster.  [1931.]  Is.  (Is.  lid.). 

No.  165.  Studies  in  Nutrition.  An  Inquiry  into  the  Diet  of  Families  in  Cardiff  and  Read¬ 
ing.  By  E.  P.  Cathcart  and  A.  M.  T.  Murray,  assisted  by  M.  Shanks.  [1932.]  6d.  (7d.). 
No.  167.  Vitamins:  A  Survey  of  Present  Knowledge.  By  a  Committee  appointed  jointly 
by  the  Lister  Institute  and  Medical  Research  Council.  [1932.]  6s.  6d.  (7s.  |d.) 

No.  175.  Vitamin  Content  of  Australian,  New  Zealand,  and  English  Butters.  ByM.  E.  F. 

Crawford,  E.  O.  V.  Perry,  and  S.  S.  Zilva.  [1932.].  Is. 

See  also  Child  Life  ;  Rickets;  Dental  Disease. 

Pituitary  Extract  :  see  Standards. 

Pneumonia : 

No.  79.  Bacteriological  and  Clinical  Observations  on  Pneumonia  and  Empyemata,  with 
special  reference  to  the  Pneumococcus  and  to  Serum  Treatment.  By  E.  E.  Glynn  and 
Lettice  Digby.  [1923.]  5s.  (5s.  3d.). 

Pneumothorax,  Artificial  :  see  Tuberculosis. 

Print,  Legibility  of  :  see  Vision. 

Protozoan  Infections  : 

No.  59.  A  Report  on  the  Occurrence  of  Intestinal  Protozoa  in  the  inhabitants  of  Britain. 
By  Clifford  Dobell.  [1921.]  2s.  (2s.  lid.). 

Psychology: 

No.  170.  Studies  in  the  Psychology  of  Delinquency.  By  G.  W.  Pailthorpe.  [1932. 
2s.  (2s.  2d.) 


v 


Special  Reports—  continued. 


Quinine  : 

No.  96.  Clinical  Comparisons  of  Quinine  and  Quinidine.  By  the  Committee  upon 
Cinchona  Derivatives  and  Malaria.  [1925.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

Radium  : 

No.  62.  Medical  Uses  of  Radium  :  Studies  of  the  Effects  of  Gamma  Rays  from  a  large 
Quantity  of  Radium.  By  various  authors.  [1922.]  5s.  (5s.  3d.). 

No.  90.  Medical  Uses  of  Radium  :  Summary  of  Reports  from  Research  Centres  for  1923. 
[1924.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  102.  Ditto  for  1924.  [1926.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7d.). 

No.  112.  Ditto  for  1925.  [1926.]  Is.  3d.  (Is.  4d.). 

No.  116.  Ditto  for  1926.  [1927.]  Is.  (Is.  ljd.). 

No.  126.  Ditto  for  1927.  [1928.]  Is.  (Is.  l|d.). 

No.  144.  Ditto  for  1928.  [1929.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  150.  Ditto  for  1929.  [1930.]  9d.  (10d.). 

No.  160.  Ditto  for  1930.  [1931.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  174.  Ditto  for  1931.  [1932.]  Is.  3d. 

Rheumatism  :  see  Child  Life  (No.  114). 

Rickets  : 

No.  20.  A  Study  of  Social  and  Economic  Factors  in  the  Causation  of  Rickets,  with  an 
Introductory  Historical  Survey.  By  L.  Findlay  and  Margaret  Ferguson.  [1918.] 

Out  of  print. 

No.  61.  Experimental  Rickets.  By  E.  Mellanby.  [1921.]  4s.  (4s.  2d.). 

No.  68.  Rickets  :  the  Relative  Importance  of  Environment  and  Diet  as  Factors  iD 
Causation.  By  H.  Corry  Mann.  [1922.]  2s.  6d.  (2s.  7Jd.). 

No.  71.  The  Aetiology  and  Pathology  of  Rickets  from  an  experimental  point  of  view.  By 
V.  Korenchevsky.  [1922.]  4s.  (4s.  3d.). 

No.  77.  Studies  of  Rickets  in  Vienna,  1919-22.  [1923.]  7s.  6d.  (7s.  101d.). 

No.  93.  Experimental  Rickets  :  The  Effect  of  Cereals  and  their  Interaction  with  other 
factors  of  Diet  and  Environment  in  producing  Rickets.  By  E.  Mellanby.  [1925.] 
3s.  6d.  (3s.  8d.). 

Salvarsan  :  see  Venereal  Diseases  ;  Streptococcal  Infections  ;  Standards,  Bio¬ 
logical  (No.  128). 

Scarlet  Fever :  see  Statistics  (No.  137). 

Scurvy  :  see  Nutrition  (No.  146). 

Shock,  Surgical  : 

Reports  of  the  Committee  on  Surgical  Shock  and  Allied  Conditions: — 

No.  25.  Wound-Shock  and  Haemorrhage.  [1919.]  4s.  (4s.  5 id.). 

No.  26.  Traumatic  Toxaemia  as  a  Factor  in  Shock.  [1919.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  27.  Blood  Volume  Changes  in  Wound-Shock  and  Primary  Haemorrhage.  By 
N.  M.  Keith.  [1919.]  9d.  (10d.). 

Small-pox  : 

No.  98.  Studies  of  the  Viruses  of  Vaccinia  and  Variola.  By  M.  H.  Gordon.  [1925.] 
3s.  6d.  (3s.  8 id.). 

No.  106.  Small-pox  and  Climate  in  India  :  Forecasting  of  Epidemics.  By  Sir  Leonard 
Rogers.  [1926.]  2s.  (2s.  l^d.). 

No.  143.  Diagnostic  Value  of  the  ‘Vaccinia  Variola’  F'locculation  Test.  By  W.  L. 
Burgess,  James  Craigie,  and  W.  J.  Tulloch.  [1929.]  Is.  3d.  (Is.  4d.). 

No.  156.  Further  Investigations  on  the  Variola-Vaccinia  Flocculation  Reaction.  By 
James  Craigie  and  W.  J.  Tulloch.  [1931.]  3s.  (3s.  2£d.). 

Spinal  Deformities  :  see  Surgery  (No.  161). 

Standards,  Biological  : 

No.  69.  I.  Pituitary  Extracts.  By  J.  H. Burn  and  H.  H.  Dale.  [1922.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7d.). 

No.  128.  II.  Toxicity  Tests  for  Novarsenobenzene  (Neosalvarsan).  By  F.  M.  Durham, 
J.  H.  Gaddum,  and  J.  E.  Marchal.  [1929.]  Is.  9d.  (Is.  10d.). 

See  also  Venereal  Diseases  (No.  44)  and  Nutrition  (No.  158). 


vi 


Special  Reports — continued. 


Statistics  (Miscellaneous). 

No.  16.  A  Report  on  the  Causes  of  Wastage  of  Labour  in  Munition  Factories.  By  Major 
Greenwood.  [1918.]  Is.  6 d.  (Is.  7 d.). 

No.  60.  The  Use  of  Death-rates  as  a  Measure  of  Hygienic  Conditions.  By  John  Brownlee. 
[1922.]  3s.  (3s.  1  id.). 

No.  95.  Internal  Migration  and  its  Effects  upon  the  Death-rates  :  with  Special  Refer¬ 
ence  to  the  County  of  Essex.  By  A.  B.  Hill.  [1925.]  3s.  6d.  (3s.  8 d.). 

No.  137.  Scarlet  Fever,  Diphtheria,  and  Enteric  Fever,  1895-1914 :  A  Clinical-Statistical 
Study.  By  E.  W.  Goodall,  M.  Greenwood,  and  W.  T.  Russell.  [1929.]  2s.  (2s.  l$d.). 
Streptococcal  Infections : 

No.  119.  A  Study  of  some  Organic  Arsenical  Compounds  with  a  view  to  their  Use  in 
certain  Streptococcal  Infections.  By  L.  Colebrook.  [1928.]  Price  Is.  3d.  (Is.  4 d.). 
Surgery: 

No.  125.  A  Study  of  Intracranial  Surgery.  By  H.  Cairns.  [1929.]  3s.  (3s.  2 \d.). 
No.  138.  The  Preparation  of  Catgut  for  Surgical  Use.  By  W.  Bulloch,  L.  H.  Lampitt, 
and  J.  FI.  Bushill.  [1929.]  4s.  (4s.  3d.). 

No.  161.  The  Intervertebral  Discs.  Observations  on  their  Normal  and  Morbid  Anatomy 
in  relation  to  certain  Spinal  Deformities.  By  O.  A.  Beadle.  [1931.]  2s.  (2s.  2d.). 

See  also  Burns  ;  Shock,  Surgical. 

T.N.T.  Poisoning  : 

No.  11.  The  Causation  and  Prevention  of  Tri-nitro-toluene  (T.N.T.)  Poisoning.  By 
Benjamin  Moore.  [1917.]  Is.  (Is.  ljd.). 

No.  58.  T.N.T.  Poisoning  and  the  Fate  of  T.N.T.  in  the  Animal  Body.  By  W.  J. 
O’Donovan  and  others.  [1921.]  3s.  (3s.  1  id.). 

Tuberculosis  : 

No.  1.  First  Report  of  the  Special  Investigation  Committee  upon  the  Incidence  of 
Phthisis  in  relation  to  Occupations. — The  Boot  and  Shoe  Trade.  [1915.]  3d.  (3 |d.). 
No.  18.  An  Investigation  into  the  Epidemiology  of  Phthisis  Pulmonalisin  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland.  Parts  I  and  II.  By  John  Brownlee.  [1918.]  Price  Is.  3d.  (Is.  4$d.). 
No.  22.  An  Inquiry  into  the  Prevalence  and  Aetiology  of  Tuberculosis  among  Industrial 
Workers,  with  special  reference  to  Female  Munition  Workers.  By  Major  Greenwood  and 
A.  E.  Tebb.  [1919.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7 d.). 

No.  33.  Pulmonary  Tuberculosis  :  Mortality  after  Sanatorium  Treatment.  By  Noel  D. 

Bardswell  and  J.  H.  R.  Thompson.  [1919.]  2s.  (2s.  2d.). 

No.  46.  An  Investigation  into  the  Epidemiology  of  Phthisis  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland : 

Part  III.  By  John  Brownlee.  [1920.]  2s.  6d.  (2s.  7 id.). 

No.  67.  Report  on  Artificial  Pneumothorax.  By  L.  S.  T.  Burrell  and  A.  S.  MacNalty. 
[1922.]  2s.  6d.  (2s.  8d.). 

No.  76.  Tuberculosis  in  Insured  Persons  accepted  for  Treatment  by  the  City  of  Bradford 
Health  Committee.  By  H.  Vallow.  [1923.]  6d.  (7d.). 

No.  83.  Tuberculosis  of  the  Larynx.  By  Sir  St.  Clair  Thomson.  [1924.]  2s.  6d.  (2s.  8d.). 
No.  85.  An  Inquiry  intotheAfter-HistoriesofPatientstreatedattheBromptonHospital 
Sanatorium  at  Frimley,  during  the  years  1905-14.  By  Sir  P.  H.-S.  Hartley,  R.  C. 
Wingfield,  and  J.  H.  R.  Thompson.  [1924.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7d.). 

No.  94.  Tuberculin  Tests  in  Cattle,  with  special  reference  to  the  Intradermal  Test.  By 
the  Tuberculin  Committee.  [1925.]  3s.  (3s.  3d.). 

No.  122.  The  Intradermal  Tuberculin  Test  in  Cattle  :  Collected  Results  of  Experience. 

By  J.  B.  Buxton  and  A.  S.  MacNalty.  [1928.]  Is.  6d.  (Is.  7 Jd.). 

No.  149.  Tuberculosis  in  Man  and  Lower  Animals.  By  II.  H.  Scott.  [1930.]  4s.  (4s.  4d.). 
No.  152.  Studies  of  Protection  against  Tuberculosis:  Results  with  B.  C.  G.  Vaccine  in 
Monkeys.  By  A.  Stanley  Griffith.  [1931.]  9d.  (10ld.). 

No.  164.  The  Value  of  Tuberculin  Tests  in  Man  with  special  reference  to  the  Intra- 
cutaneous  Test.  By  P.  D’Arcy  Hart.  [1932.]  2s.  (2s.  2d.). 

No.  172.  Tuberculous  Disease  in  Children:  Its  Pathology  and  Bacteriology.  By 
J.  W.  S.  Blacklock.  [1932.]  3s.  (3s.  3d.). 

Venereal  Diseases  : 

No.  14.  The  Wassermann  Test.  By  the  Committee  upon  Pathological  Methods.  1918. 
Reprinted.  [1921.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

vii 


Special  Reports — continued. 


No.  19.  The  Laboratory  Diagnosis  of  Gonococcal  Infections.  Methods  for  the  Detection 
of  Spironema  pallidum.  By  the  Bacteriological  Committee.  New  Edition.  [1923.] 
Is.  6d.  (Is.  7id.). 

No.  21.  The  Diagnostic  Value  of  the  Wassermann  Test.  By  the  Committee  upon 
Pathological  Methods.  [1918.]  Out  of  print. 

No.  23.  An  Analysis  of  the  Results  of  Wassermann  Reactions  in  1,435  Cases  of  Syphilis 
or  Suspected  Syphilis.  By  Paul  Fildes  and  R.  J.  G.  Parnell.  [1919.]  2s.  (2s.  Id.). 
No.  41.  (I.)  An  Investigation  into  the  Ultimate  Results  ofthe  Treatment  of  Syphilis  with 
Arsenical  Compounds.  By  Paul  Fildes  and  R.  J.  G.  Parnell.  (II.)  A  Clinical  Study 
of  the  Toxic'Reactions  which  follow  the  Intravenous  Administration  of  ‘  914  ’.  By 
R.  J.  G.  Parnell  and  Paul  Fildes.  [1919.]  2s.  (2s.  Id.). 

No.  44.  Reports  of  the  Special  Committee  upon  the  Manufacture,  Biological  Testing,  and 
Clinical  Administration  of  Salvarsan  and  of  its  Substitutes.  I.  [1919.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 
No.  45.  Unsuspected  Involvement  of  the  Central  Nervous  System  in  Syphilis.  By  Paul 
Fildes,  R.  J.  G.  Parnell,  and  H.  B.  Maitland.  [1920.]  Is.  (Is.  Id.). 

No.  47.  The  Accuracy  of  Wassermann  Tests,  applied  before  and  after  death,  estimated  by 
Necropsies.  I.  The  Wassermann  Test  applied  before  death.  By  H.  M.  Turnbull. 
[1920.]  2s.  6 d.  (2s.  7 id.). 

No.  55.  ( I. )  Results  of  the  Examination  of  Tissues  from  Eight  Cases  of  Death  following 
Injections  of  Salvarsan.  By  H.  M.  Turnbull.  (II.)  The  Influence  of  Salvarsan 
Treatment  on  the  Development  and  Persistence  of  Immunity,  as  indicated  by  Measure¬ 
ments  of  Agglutinins.  By  E.  W.  Ainley  Walker.  [1920.]  3s.  (3s.  l£d.). 

No.  66.  Toxic  Effec  ts  following  the  Employment  of  Arsenobenzol  Preparations.  By  the 
Salvarsan  Committee.  [1922.]  2s.  (2s.  1  id.). 

No.  78.  The  Serum  Diagnosis  of  Syphilis  :  The  Wassermann  and  Sigma  Reactions 
compared.  [1923.]  5s.  6d.  (5s.  9d.). 

No.  107.  The  Effect  of  Treatment  on  the  Wassermann  Reactions  of  Syphilitic  Patients. 

By  E.  E.  Glynn,  R.  E.  Roberts,  and  P.  M.  Bigland.  [1926.]  3s.  6 d.  (3s.  8d.). 

No.  129.  The  Wassermann  Test.  Technical  Details  of  No.  1  Method  M.R.C.  (Modified). 
By  E.  J.  Wyler.  [1929.]  9 d.  (10d.). 

No.  132.  The  Treatment  of  Syphilis:  A  Survey  of  Records  from  St.  Thomas’s  Hos¬ 
pital.  By  L.  W.  Harrison.  [1929.]  2s.  (2s.  l£d.). 

Ventilation ,  etc. : 

No.  32.  The  Science  of  Ventilation  and  Open-air  Treatment.  Parti.  By  Leonard  Hill. 
[1919.]  10s.  (10s.  5£d.). 

No.  52.  The  Science  of  Ventilation  and  Open-air  Treatment.  Partll.  By  Leonard  Hill. 
[1920.]  6s.  (6s.  4£d.). 

No.  73.  The  Kata-thermometer  in  Studies  of  Body  Heat  and  Efficiency.  By  Leonard 
Hill  and  others.  [1923.]  5s.  (5s.  2£d.). 

No.  100.  Methods  of  Investigating  Ventilation  and  its  Effects.  By  H.  M.  Vernon  and 
others.  [1926.]  2s.  (2s.  lid.). 

Vision  : 

No.  65.  First  Report  of  the  Miners’ Nystagmus  Committee.  [1922.]  Out  of  print. 

No.  80.  Second  Report  of  the  Miners’ Nystagmus  Committee.  [1923.]  9d.  (10d.). 

No.  110.  The  Legibility  of  Print.  By  R.  L.  Pyke.  [1926.]  4s.  (4s.  2d.). 

Reports  of  the  Committee  on  the  Physiology  of  Vision  : 

No. 104.  I.  Illumination  and  Visual  Capacities.  By  R.  J.  Lythgoe.  [1926.]  2s.  6d. 
(2s.  7 id.). 

No.  127.  II.  Dark  Adaptation  (a  Review  of  the  Literature).  By  Dorothy  Adams. 
[1929.]  5s.  (5s.  2 id.). 

No.  130.  III.  Two  Studies  in  the  Psychology  of  Reading.  By  M.  D.  Vernon  and  R.  W. 
Pickford.  [1929.]  2s.  (2s.  l£d.). 

No.  133.  IV.  Experiments  on  Binocular  Vision.  By  N.  M.  S.  Langlands.  [1929.] 
2s.  6d.  (2s.  8 d.). 

No.  134.  V.  The  Adaptation  of  the  Eye :  its  Relation  to  the  Critical  Frequency  of 
Flicker.  By  R.  J.  Lythgoe  and  K.  Tansley.  [1929.]  2s.  6d.  (2s.  7 id.). 

viii 


Special  Reports — continued. 

No.  136.  VI.  Some  Experiments  on  Peripheral  Vision.  By  Myer  Salaman.  [1929.1 
2s.  6 d.  (2s.  7 d.). 

No.  139.  VII.  A  Re-determination  of  the  Trichromatic  Mixture  Data.  By  VV.  D. 
Wright.  [1929.]  Is.  3d.  (Is.  4d.). 

No.  148.  VIII.  The  Movements  of  the  Eyes  in  Reading.  By  M.  D.  Vernon.  [1930.] 
9 d.  (10rf.). 

No.  163.  IX.  Psychological  Factors  in  Peripheral  Vision.  By  G.  C.  Grindley.  [1931.]  Is. 
(Is.  Id.) 

No.  173.  X.  The  Measurement  of  Visual  Acuity.  By  R.  J.  Lythgoe. 

Vitamins:  see  Nutrition. 

Wassermann  Test:  see  Venereal  Diseases. 

Wound  Infections: 

No.  12.  The  Classification  and  Study  of  the  Anaerobic  Bacteria  of  War  Wounds.  By 
J.  McIntosh.  [1917.]  Out  of  print. 

No.  39.  Report  on  the  Anaerobic  Infections  of  Wounds  and  the  Bacteriological  and 
Serological  Problems  arising  therefrom.  By  the  Committee  upon  Anaerobic  Bacteria 
and  Infections.  [1919.]  6s.  (6s.  3£d.). 

No.  57.  Studiesin  Wound  Infections.  By  S.  R.  Douglas,  A.  Fleming, and  L.  Colebrook. 
[1920.]  4s.  6d.  (4s.  8  Jd.). 

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Milk  and  its  Hygienic  Relations.  By  Janet  E.  Lane-Claypon.  9s.  net.  [Longmans, 
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The  Amoebae  living  in  Man.  By  Clifford  Dobell.  7s.  6 d.  net.  [Bale,  Sons  & 
Danielsson,  Ltd.] 

The  Intestinal  Protozoa  of  Man.  By  Clifford  Dobell  and  F.  W .  O’Connor.  15s.  net. 
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(2) 


IX 


MEDICAL  RESEARCH  COUNCIL 


A  SYSTEM  OF 

BACTERIOLOGY 

IN  RELATION  TO  MEDICINE 


Vol.  I  (1930). 
Vol.  II  (1929). 
Vol.  Ill  (1929). 

Vol.  IV  (1929). 
Vol.  V  (1930). 

Vol.  VI  (1931). 
Vol.  VII  (1930). 
Vol.  VIII  (1931). 

Vol.  IX  (1931). 


By  VARIOUS  AUTHORS 


History  ;  Morphology  ;  Physiology. 

Cocci ;  Haemophilic  Bacteria. 

Economic  Bacteriology  ;  Plague  ;  Anaerobes  ;  Food 
Poisoning. 

Enteric  Group  ;  Vibrios  ;  Pasteurella. 

Glanders  ;  Diphtheria  ;  Tuberculosis  ;  Leprosy  ; 
Brucella ;  Anthrax. 

Immunity. 

Virus  Diseases  ;  Bacteriophage. 

Fungi;  Streptothriceae ;  Spirochaetes;  Normal  Flora; 
Swine  Erysipelas. 

Bacteriological  Methods  ;  General  Index. 


LONDON 

PUBLISHED  BY  HIS  MAJESTY’S  STATIONERY  OFFICE 

1929-31 


Sets  of  nine  volumes,  £8  8s.  per  set ;  post  free,  £8  14s.  9d. 

Single  volumes,  £1  Is.  each;  post  free,  £1  ls.9d. 

(Obtainable  from  any  of  the  sale  offices  or  overseas  agencies  of  H.M. 
Stationery  Office  or  through  any  bookseller.) 


Pamphlets 

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Vol.  6 

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